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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28695564">księżyc</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/combustible/pseuds/combustible'>combustible</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>LANTERNS. [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Haikyuu!!</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Tangled (2010), Atsumu as Flynn Rider, HAPPY BIRTHDAY KLAUDIA, M/M, Sakusa as Grumpy!Rapunzel</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-01-12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-01-12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 06:46:59</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>23,072</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28695564</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/combustible/pseuds/combustible</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p></p><blockquote>
  <p><i>This is the story of how Miya Atsumu died. But don’t worry, it is actually a very fun story. And well, to be honest, it’s not even his. </i><br/>This is the story of a man named Sakusa Kiyoomi.<br/></p>
</blockquote>or a sakuatsu - tangled alternate universe.
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Miya Atsumu/Sakusa Kiyoomi, implied 0sak</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>LANTERNS. [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/2104776</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>53</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. introduction.</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">
      <li>For <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/miyaomi/gifts">miyaomi</a>.</li>



    </ul><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>happy birthday klaudia!!!!<br/>i hope you had a wonderful day and that you can now peacefully play the sims &lt;3<br/>first of all, i think i didn't get the title wrong. ha.<br/>once again, i am sorry for my belated gift, it took longer than expected to edit the entire thing!<br/>when i dmed you a few months ago i had no fucking idea you'd become someone i would talk to almost every day. you have brought me a lot of joy and peace during the past few months, thank you for always listening to me when i am feeling down, it means a lot to me.<br/>i hope you will like this little gift i prepared for you... i started writing it as soon as i finished the osaaka part of the series.</p><p>-</p><p>this is the atsumu!pov of my osaaka tangled au. it is a stand alone and you don't have to read the osaaka part to understand.. although i would recommend that you do!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p><p> </p><p>☽ - ✧ - ☾</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>
  <b>INTRODUCTION</b>
</p><p>
  <em>i'd meet you </em>
</p><p>
  <em>where the spirit meets the bones</em>
</p><p>
  <em>in a faith-forgotten land</em>
</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>☽ - ✧ - ☾</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>A little girl is sitting on her small sized rocking chair, another one is sitting on the floor; one with black straight hair falling around her face, short as not to touch her shoulders, and one with dark brown hair, falling in soft curls behind her shoulders. Both are looking up at the starry sky, wide eyes shining with admiration.</p><p>Their father is sitting between them, index finger pointed towards the horizon, where small dots of blue and silver nuances can already be seen. He’s about to explain to them what they are, but his youngest daughter beats him to it.</p><p>“What are they?” she asks.</p><p>“They’re aliens who are coming to get you,” Joel, their older brother replies with a serious look on his face. </p><p>“Really?” the other girl tilts her head, eyes wide, both in fear and fascination. </p><p>“Stop scaring your sisters, Joel,” Konoha reprimands him, “they are lanterns.”</p><p>“Lanterns?” both sisters yell at the same time, as they look at the sky again, following the floating dots their father is pointing at.</p><p>“Yes, lanterns. For the missing Prince. Well- formerly missing prince. He’s not missing anymore.”</p><p>“Where is he then?”</p><p>Joel lets out a dry mocking laugh but that doesn’t stop Konoha; he smiles softly at his daughters and starts telling the tale of the missing prince.</p><p>“It all starts<em> with the moon-” </em></p>
<p></p><blockquote>
  <p>
    <em> Once upon a time a single drop of moonlight fell from the sky, silver and shiny. From this drop of moonlight, grew a magical flower, with silver petals and black roots. It had the ability to heal the sick, the injured, to heal the bodies and the minds. </em>
  </p>
  <p>
    <em> Our kingdom was ruled by the previous king and queen. When the queen was about to give birth to an heir to the throne, she got really sick.  </em>
  </p>
  <p>
    <em> So, people started looking for miracles, or more like- for a particular silver flower.  </em>
  </p>
  <p>
    <em> But a bad witch, who was already a thousand of centuries old, had found the flower many centuries ago; and instead of sharing the moon’s gift with the others, she hoarded the flower’s power to keep herself young for hundreds of years. </em>
  </p>
  <p>
    <em> She’d only have to sing to activate the flower’s powers.  </em>
  </p>
</blockquote><p>Joel stares at his father when he starts to sing, imitating the voice of a very old woman, tone wobbling as he sings; he's heard that story one too many times; he's fifteen for fuck's sake! He's too old for children's stories!</p><p>“Flower gleam and glow, let your power shine, make the clock reverse, bring back what once was mine, <em> what once, was mine-” </em></p>
<p></p><blockquote>
  <p>
    <em> But eventually, someone found the silver flower, and the queen was healed.  </em>
  </p>
  <p>
    <em> With that, the Prince was born. He had beautiful light silver hair. </em>
  </p>
  <p>
    <em>His name was Kiyoomi.  </em>
  </p>
</blockquote><p>“You mean<em> Uncle Kiyoomi </em>has magical hair?” one of the girls interrupts him.</p><p>“It’s just a tale, have you seen Uncle Kiyoomi’s hair? It's pitch black, not silver,” Joel remarks, rolling his eyes in exasperation. Is he the only smart person in this house?</p><p>The lanterns are now looking slightly bigger, as they approach, almost reaching the vineyard, carried by the soft wind of the late Spring.</p><p>Konoha shrugs with a secretive smile; it is not his place to tell what is real and what is not.</p><p>“This is just the story behind these lanterns,” he explains, “on the day Kiyoomi was born, <em>the royal family launched a blue lantern into the sky-</em>” </p>
<p></p><blockquote>
  <p>
    <em> -to celebrate the birth of their son, and the Queen’s return to perfect health.<br/>
</em>
  </p>
  <p>
    <em> For that moment, everything was perfect. </em>
  </p>
  <p>
    <em> But it couldn’t stay that way; it never does.<br/>
</em>
  </p>
  <p>
    <em> One night, while the King and Queen were asleep, the bad witch came to Kiyoomi’s room and sang the song, activating the flower’s powers that now reside in the prince's hair.  </em>
  </p>
  <p>
    <em> She tried to cut a strand of silver hair.</em>
  </p>
  <p>
    <em>But once cut, the power stops flowing, rendering the hair completely useless. So, she took the baby in her arms, and ran away with him.  </em>
  </p>
  <p>
    <em> The old witch might not have been able to hide the flower from the Kingdom, but she would definitely keep the boy hidden forever. </em>
  </p>
  <p>
    <em>So, she locked him up in a high tower, in the middle of the forest, hidden behind a hidden entrance; he grew up there, alone, with only her for company. He was set to grow up, live, and die in this tower. </em>
  </p>
  <p>
    <em> And every year, he’d watch the thousands of lanterns thrown in the sky in his memory, not even knowing that they were for him.  </em>
  </p>
</blockquote><p>Until he met Atsumu, Konoha doesn't say; because of course, the two little girls would connect the dots between their two <em>uncles.</em></p><p> </p><p>- ✧ -</p><p> </p><p>This is the story of how Miya Atsumu died. But don’t worry, it is actually a very fun story. And well, to be honest, it’s not even his. </p><p>This is the story of a man named Sakusa Kiyoomi.</p><p> </p><p>☽ - ✧ - ☾</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p><a href="https://twitter.com/yootasuke">twitter</a>.</p><p>i wanted to make this introduction a bit more personal; if you've been following me for a while, you know who joel.. usually is.<br/>today, joel is human, and he has two sisters whose names are [redacted]<br/>kita and konoha adopted the three of them, and they're raising them in osamu and akaashi's vineyard (cf. the first part of this tangled au series)</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. part one.</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p><p> </p><p>☽ - ✧ - ☾</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>
  <b>PART ONE.</b>
</p><p>
  <em>oh, i can't</em>
</p><p>
  <em>stop you putting roots in my dreamland</em>
</p><p>
  <em>my house of stone, your ivy grows</em>
</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>☽ - ✧ - ☾</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>It's completely stupid, Atsumu thinks, to leave one of the most precious possessions of the kingdom in a room, for everyone to see, for anyone to steal<em>, </em> especially since there's an open window just above the dark blue cushion on which the silver crown is sitting. But he's not complaining. It's good for him, since his body is currently suspended at the end of a thick rope thrown through said open window, above said blue cushion. </p><p>He’s almost at arm reach from the piece of jewellery, fine platinum and silver shining under yellow sun rays. He can almost touch it- can almost see his reflection in the sapphires- he extends his hand, fingers closing around the back of the crown, and he only allows himself to exhale once it’s safely resting against his palm, tugging at the rope to let his colleagues know they can pull him back up. </p><p>Everything is perfect; they're following the plan and everything is smooth and calm and beautifully predictable-</p><p>Until one of the guards standing in front of the table on which the crown was once showcased, sneezes.</p><p>“Bless you! Hay fever?” Atsumu casually asks, smug smile on his face, seeing the ballroom become smaller and smaller under him as he’s getting pulled up.</p><p>“Nah, just a cold-” the guard answers, before turning on his heels to look at the voice behind him- above him, realizing a few seconds too late, what's happening <em>“hey, you!”</em></p><p>But he's too slow and Atsumu is already on the roof, the crown now comfortably laying at the bottom of his satchel, his two colleagues running right behind him.</p><p>It’s not a long way to the forest, not as long as one might think, as long as you’re running on the roofs. In the city, streets are intricate, and it would take hours for them to get out. But jumping from red tiled roof to black tiled roof, they manage to land on the bridge leading to the forest in only half an hour, the crown still in their possession, and the guards running monstrously far behind them, because, you see, they choose to go through the streets.</p><p>
  <em>Dumb guards.</em>
</p><p>Not even able to protect a stupid inanimate crown. How can they even be trusted with living prisoners?</p><p>They reach the forest before any guard can even see them passing the gates. It takes only a few meters once they’ve crossed the edge of the forest, for them to stop running, satisfied with the distance they put between them and the royal guards. Atsumu inhales deeply, clutching his stomach; yes, he’s in good shape, <em>thank you very much,</em> but running  and jumping from roof to roof is another level of exercise compared to what he's used to.</p><p>The two brothers who helped him with this <em> mission </em> follow him down the road, and when he stops inside a cave to rest. They'll be waiting here for the night to fall, before they can leave their hiding spot to head to another town, where they’ll try to sell the crown for a <em> very good price. </em></p><p>Hopefully, a price he won’t have to share with the brothers, if he manages to accidentally get lost on the way; allowing him to give all the money to the orphanage he’s been helping lately. It's located in an old cathedral hidden in the middle of a forest on the eastern part of the Corona Kingdom.</p><p>The moonlight barely pierces through the  falling plants hiding the entrance of the cave. But as soon as the night has fallen, Atsumu points towards the exit.</p><p>“Let’s go.”</p><p>The two brothers nod in one same movement, taking their bags with them before stepping outside behind him.</p><p>The wind is getting warmer; summer is almost already there, meaning tourists are going to arrive to the royal island soon. Yeah.</p><p>Once he’s done with the crown, he’ll get back there and target the richest tourists  who are coming to the capital to buy whatever rich people buy when they come to the richest city in the realm. It's a good plan.</p><p>Well, that’s what he was planning to do before his eyes land on a tree, not far away from the road they’re following.</p><p>There’s a parchment paper pinned there, on the three, with a big ‘WANTED’ written on top of it in red letters. His eyes slide down, frowning when he sees his <em> alias </em>written on it. </p><p>
  <em> Inari Ōkami.</em>
</p><p>It's the name he's been using for years for his criminal or only slightly unlawful activities.</p><p>Seeing his name on the paper- The realization strikes him like thunder.</p><p>The person drawn on the paper- it's him!</p><p>“Oh my god can you believe this!” he groans, showing the paper at the two other criminals.</p><p>“What?” one of the brothers rolls his eyes, clearly unhappy to be slowed down by whatever thing Atsumu is currently bothered by.</p><p>“They didn’t even get my nose right!” Atsumu shoves the notice in their face in an outraged groan. </p><p>- ✧ -</p><p>When the next day comes, they’re only a few kilometres away from the next city they are heading to. They're walking down the road, when they hear vociferous voices coming from not too far away, and the sound of hooves hitting the ground. </p><p>They’re getting closer already when they notice the sounds and start running, leaving the road to run away through the woods; but the sounds keep getting closer and closer, almost suffocating. The guards' screams are weirdly tired, but it's not that surprising,  if they started screaming just after they left the castle; meaning they must have been yelling for hours now. </p><p>
  <em>May their vocal cords rest in peace.</em>
</p><p>They’re running as fast as they can now, sliding between the trees- when they come face to face with a white stone wall; Atsumu looks up and sighs dramatically.</p><p>“Lift me up,” he asks.</p><p>They’re at the bottom of a small cliff, and if the two brothers work together to help him, he might make it to the top before the guards arrive.</p><p>“Give us the bag, then,” one of the brothers argues with a suspicious frown, stretching his arm for Atsumu to hand him the satchel.</p><p>
  <em> Ugh.  </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Bastards. </em>
</p><p>“I can’t believe you’re not trusting me! After all we’ve been through <em> together!”  </em></p><p>He tries, okay?</p><p>But as he said, they’ve been through <em> a lot </em> together, as more or less fortunate partners.</p><p>Listen, <em>Atsumu</em> needs help from people with dubious backgrounds just to make sure situations like this won’t end up with him getting thrown in jail; and <em>they</em> need someone with a brain to think for them.</p><p>Perfect team, right?</p><p>Well except for the fact that the two brothers have no moral compass whatsoever (not even a slightly tilted moral compass; no, they seem to simply have no compass at all: leaving them completely lost in the maze of morality).</p><p>All of them, they’ve been through a lot together, especially through treasons and betrayals, so they know Atsumu doesn’t do <em> feelings.</em></p><p>Except when it comes to the orphanage, but they don't know this.</p><p><em> He’s doing this for the orphanage, </em>he reminds himself as he hands them the bag with a dramatic sigh before he lets them lift him up. </p><p>If they notice his fingers discreetly sliding around the satchel’s handle, they <em> will </em> abandon him at the guard’s mercy-</p><p><em>But it’s for the orphanage, </em>and so, he takes the risk anyway, discreetly grabbing the satchel anyway, praying for them not to notice.</p><p>They don’t.</p><p>He lets out a silent sigh of relief before turning around as soon as he’s standing on top of the cliff. One of the brothers lifts his arm up, expecting Atsumu to help him; but the blond thief only smiles wickedly. </p><p>
  <em> It’s for the orphanage.  </em>
</p><p>That will probably be the last time they’ll be collaborating, though: there are just so many treasons one could overlook a betrayal after all. But if he’s able to sell the crown and keep all the money instead of sharing it with them- the orphanage might finally be able to change its defective sewage system.</p><p>“Sorry, my hands are full,” he shakes the satchel above their heads with a smirk, like a carrot for a donkey. </p><p>“OKAMI!” the two brothers yell in outrage.</p><p>The guards shouldn’t be too far away for now. They’ll be occupied long enough for him to find a good place to hide before he finally reaches a city where he’ll be able to sell it.</p><p>
  <em> Perfect.  </em>
</p><p>- ✧ -</p><p>Despite whatever many people may think: <em> he’s such a turbulent kid, he’s so agitated-, </em> Atsumu is, as a matter of fact, pretty smart. So, when instead of heading towards the city, he goes back on his tracks, he knows it's a smart move; because he made said-move. They’ll be expecting him there, so he just won’t go there. See? Smart<em>.  </em></p><p>He stays crouched, safely hidden for a few hours before finally leaving his spiky bush. Running through the woods, not too far from the road, but far enough not to be visible, he looks around him, searching for another hiding place where he could spend the night (and despite being a cute spiky bush, Atsumu wasn’t really looking forward to sleeping in a bush)</p><p>But he only has the time to run for a few minutes before he hears voices again, and horses again, and people being angry <em> again.  </em></p><p>(Maybe he’s not that smart after all.)</p><p>He starts running faster, getting further away from the road when he sees it: the perfect way to escape this situation, a vessel sent by the gods, a miracle in the form of an animal.</p><p>It’s a white horse, standing there, in the middle of a green field, the only small circle in this area where no trees are growing. There's only grass, and the sun softly bathing the small glade with warmth. The horse is standing gloriously, unmoving, eyes closed, clearly enjoying the sun. But soon it will be Atsumu’s fleeing vehicle, Atsumu’s life saver, Atsumu’s alive-status enabler.</p><p>He doesn’t think for a second, when he jumps on the back of that horse, heart hammering in his chest as the guards get closer to him, now clearly calling his name. They saw him.</p><p>When the horse doesn’t move an inch when he lands the saddle, ass comfortably positioned and feet hitting his sides, Atsumu knows he’s in trouble.</p><p>“Come on flea bag, run!” he whines, hitting the horse’s sides harder with his feet.</p><p>It’s a horse, it’s just a horse. It should <em> listen to him, </em> right? It’s a <em>royal</em> horse, according to the moon drawing on the saddle, a horse from the royal guard, even: it should know how to understand orders, and how to follow them. <em> Right?  </em></p><p>Instead, the horse simply turns its head towards Atsumu; face devoid of emotion (it's a horse)- but he moves suddently and tries to <em> bite off his hand, pulling at </em>the bag he's tightly holding, spinning on himself so fast to get closer to his hand, that his entire body starts moving forward.</p><p>Everything goes so fast Atsumu only has a few seconds to register the bag leaving his hand, flying in the air until it falls down, stuck on a tree branch growing horizontally above <em> a very very high pit.  </em></p><p>So, the bag, which contains the crown, which is the reason why he’s now probably one of the most wanted individuals in the very peaceful kingdom of Corona, is now hanging at the tip of a tree branch that will threaten to break as soon as one of them -himself or the horse- will start walking on top of it, leading to their very <em> imminent </em> death, body crushed on the ground, many meters below ground level.</p><p>He jumps off from the horse's back anyway, walks on his tippy toes as he gets on the tree branch. If he's going to die, he'll die with the crown against his heart.</p><p>His arm is extended, ready to reach for the bag, but the horse is already following him- <em> the thing is going to break, </em> he realizes.</p><p>But surprisingly, it doesn't. </p><p>The gods must be on his side today, then. Good.</p><p>He gathers all his courage and catches the bag before it falls, putting it over his shoulder, before he jumps on the thinnest side of the tree branch; praying for his soul.</p><p>It's elastic enough for it to bend under his weight, helping him bounce back, higher in the sky. He gasps as his body is left with nothing solid to rely on, flying above the river down the pit- and he finally lands on the other side, every limb still attached, and the bag handle safely wrapped around his shoulder.</p><p>Atsumu grins, slowly turning back, and looks at the horse still standing on the larger part of tree, on the other side of the pit.</p><p>“Too bad you're too loyal to your kingdom; we could have made such a terrific team!” he screams, taunting the faithful horse.</p><p>The white animal takes a step back but still neighs loudly, sending a very audible signal to the guards- <em>fuck</em> he definitely should start running again.</p><p>There's no point in standing there, looking dumbly at that evil horse, trying to taunt him for the sake of it- he's worth better than that (isn't he?).</p><p>
  <em>The sewage system does need to be changed.</em>
</p><p>He starts running again.</p><p>But it's not long before his legs are starting to hurt again, almost giving up when he has to jump over a fallen tree; the sun is high up in the sky, hot and unforgiving, when his eyes miraculously land on a curtain of bright-green vines- </p><p><em> Could it be possible that- </em> </p><p>It’s a perfect disguise that he, himself, used many times to hide the entrance of a cave- </p><p>
  <em> Takes one genius to know another one. </em>
</p><p>He walks through the curtain of vines, half expecting to be hit by a wall, but when he walks through it to discover what's hidden behind it, Atsumu doesn't even smile or scream in Victory. He was expecting a humid cave with bats and darkness; prepared to spend the night in an unwelcoming place, right on the floor- he should really have a little faith; the gods have been particularly generous today after all.</p><p>It's a small glade, bathed in sunlight with waterfalls everywhere around it, creating a constant white noise, of water hitting the ground, birds singing, bees buzzing- but what catches his eye aren't the colourful flowers freely growing in the grass, it's the not blue sky reflected in the serpentine river that flows from the waterfall and into what seems like a larger underground river. His mind doesn't even pay attention to the deer that's watching him with confusion, its small ears flapping on his head. </p><p>Because standing in the middle of the glade, is a giant tower, made of white walls and only one single window at the very top. <em>Perfect.</em></p><p>He only has to climb the wall to sneak in through the small window; and maybe he can finally get some rest, cuddle with the crown for a few hours before leaving for the city. The sewage system can wait for a few more hours. And if there's someone in this suspicious building, he'll just charm whoever is in there, convince them to let him stay for a bit- and if he can get a few kisses out of it- <em> might as well try. </em></p><p>Sighing, he looks at the wall, and starts climbing.</p><p>(His legs hurt.)</p><p>- ✧ -</p><p>It's with a long- terrible- agonizing groan, that lasts in time, that Atsumu finally reaches the top of the tower, throwing his body through the open window. </p><p>
  <em>Finally. </em>
</p><p>Atsumu doesn't have time to look around him- if he did he would have seen the man waiting for him, cooking weapon in hand; and the evil chameleon ready to lick his eyes with its devilish tongue. </p><p>But he doesn't.</p><p>And the only thing he sees, is a small green table in front of him, with a yellow pot on it, in the middle of an oval room, before everything goes black.</p><p>- ✧ -</p><p>He opens an eye, slowly, because it hurts, invisible jackhammers having a rave party in his brain. It's bright, terribly bright and the light feels like thousands of burning needles piercing his skull.</p><p>Something hits the back of his head with a resonating bang.</p><p>It's not his inner jackhammers, though, it’s less- vibrating, when it hits his head.</p><p>The world goes black again.</p><p>- ✧ -</p><p>Next time he hears the jackhammers now living in his brain, everything's black.</p><p>But he knows he's conscious because he can feel the hard wood against his back, the cramps in his muscles from being… <em> why is his head against the floor and his legs up? </em></p><p>He doesn't have time to find out the answer, because the jackhammers go wild again- and there are voices on the other side of the door, but he can't decipher what they're saying.</p><p>It's already black around him. Still, the feeling of wood against his back fades away, that's how he knows his mind is surrednering to the jackhammers again.</p><p>- ✧ -</p><p>The sun is terribly bright in his eyes when he opens them again, and there’s something wet in his ear, something long that he can feel sliding around whatever thing you have in your ear. Also, he’s tied to a chair by- he looks down at his hands- he’s tied by an impressive amount of <em> white hair? </em></p><p>“Struggling is pointless, stranger,” he hears a voice come from above him.</p><p>He looks up.</p><p>It’s another man, approximatively his own age, with long, veeeeery long silver hair going around the room. He's wearing a dark blue outfit that contrasts rather well with his light hair- <em>now's not the time to rate his outfit, Atsumu. </em>He’s standing behind a green handrail on the second floor, a cast pan in his hand, and a chameleon slash reptile slash green thing on his shoulder.</p><p>“I’m not afraid of you, you won’t have it,” he continues, threatening.</p><p>Raising his pan, he starts climbing down the stairs to come closer to Atsumu, slow and careful. The fear in his eyes is obvious, but there’s some reckless fire in them that tells him he might get hit with the pan again at the first wrong step.</p><p>“Won’t have what?” he casually asks, but he actually really doesn’t know.</p><p>“Who are you, and how did you find me?” the silver-haired man asks, ignoring Atsumu's question.</p><p>He’s now standing in front of him, his terrifying reptile staring at him with reptilian eyebrows raised in a silence challenge for him to even dare to try to lie.</p><p>The pan is raised high, the frown is wrinkling the man’s face, the reptile points his three-finger paw at him- </p><p>
  <em>Alright. </em>
</p><p>Atsumu clears his throat, and if his hands were free, he probably would have put his right one over his heart in a sign of peace, sincerity, integrity- Considering how scared the man looks, using a formal register might help him in this case- show him he’s smart, <em> that he could outsmart Atsumu easily. </em></p><p>“I know not who you are, nor how I came to find you but may I just say-” </p><p>Formal register doesn't seem to make the other man flinch in the right direction- sure, he is young, so Atsumu quickly changes his strategy- <em> young and stylish </em> register should to the trick;</p><p><em>“'hi how u doin’, the name’s inari okami. how’s yer day goin’?” </em>he asks, like they’re two friendly strangers meeting at a bar. Closeness is something the youth values, right? </p><p>It's a perfect mix to charm the man-with-the-pan, and him believe Atsumu, trust Atsumu- enough to make him give Atsumu his bag back. </p><p>
  <em>Per-fect. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>So smart, Atsumu.</em>
</p><p>“Who else knows where I live?” the man ignores his perfect attempt at friendly seduction with the unemotional coldness of a door handle.</p><p>Atsumu sighs.He might be smart, if his interlocutor doesn't have what it takes to fall for him, well, there's just so much one can do.</p><p>
  <em>Alright. </em>
</p><p>“Alright, little dove,” he starts.</p><p>“Kiyoomi,” the other man corrects him.</p><p>“How unfortunate for you,” Atsumu grimaces, “listen, I was in a situation, I saw your tower, needed a place to hide- where is my satchel?!”</p><p>He suddenly realizes his bag is nowhere near him- <em>fuck. </em></p><p><em>Fuck this man, </em>first he doesn't fall for his charms, now he stole his bag?!</p><p>“I hid it somewhere you will <em>never</em> find,” Kiyoomi tells him, in an <em> almost </em> threatening way.</p><p>It’s a challenge. But Atsumu <em> loves </em> challenges. He lets his eyes wander around the room, almost immediately landing on a yellow pot a few meters from where he’s tied up. </p><p>“It’s in that pot isn’t it?” he grins, feeling high on victory when a flicker of fear lights up Kiyoomi’s eyes.</p><p>He hears the loud <em> Bang! </em>of the pan hitting his head.</p><p>Everything turns black again.</p><p>- ✧ -</p><p>When he finally wakes up again, sunshine burning against his face, it's because there's something long, and wet, and slimy, in his ear again, wrapped around his eardrum.</p><p>
  <em> Fuck! </em>
</p><p>He jolts up, but definitely not high since he's still very much tied up to the same chair as before.</p><p>“Tell him to stop doing that!” he cries out, “it's disgusting!”</p><p><em> When was the last time he cleaned his ears again? </em> Fucking chameleon must have a kink for dirty things if it likes to stick up its tongue so far in a stranger's ear.</p><p>“What is your deal with my hair?” the still very much armed man asks, looking at him suspiciously, nose scrunched in a disgusted face.</p><p><em> What's </em> <b> <em>his</em> </b> <em> deal with his own hair? Why the obsession with it? Does he like it that much?  </em></p><p>Sure, they're beautiful and silver and all, but it's just <em> hair. </em> </p><p>
  <em> Self-centered much, eh? </em>
</p><p>“I have none! I swear! The only thing I want with your hair is- to get out of it,” he mentally gestures at the hair wrapped around his body like a rope, keeping him in place, “literally”</p><p>Kiyoomi looks at him, frowning harder, wrinkles on his forehead now clearly visible as he raises his pan again. </p><p>
  <em> Please no, not again. </em>
</p><p>“What do you mean, you don’t want my hair?”</p><p>He wants to pinch the bridge of his nose in annoyance, <em> so badly. </em></p><p>“Why would I want your hair?”</p><p>The man really loves his hair too much, that's for sure; but Atsumu wouldn't even know what to do with them if he managed to somehow <em>steal </em>them.</p><p>“Listen, I was chased, I saw a tower, so, I climbed it! Perfectly reasonable decision that any sane man would have made in my shoes.”</p><p>The chameleon looks at him, <em>really </em> looks at him with his big suspicious eyes that can apparently see through his very soul, before it turns its attention back to Kiyoomi who’s whispering things to it as if it could understand human words. And to be fair, he might as well just do- that's how <em>evil</em> it looks.</p><p>Atsumu takes this as an opportunity to move, gathering all of his weight and strength on his right side; none of them are looking, so, he tries to jump closer to the window, but eventually lands face-down on the floor, still too tightly tied to the chair- <em>fuck.</em></p><p>The floor is really clean, though, he notices with an internal appreciative whistle.</p><p>“Do you know what these are?” Kiyoomi finally asks, turning on his heels, hair flying around his face as he looks into Atsumu’s eyes.</p><p>He opens a pair of heavy purple blinds behind him, not registering that his prisoner's now laying on the floor, cheeks againt the cold tiles. Maybe he did notice, but apart from a slightly disgusted slash indifferent look he shoots at him, he doesn't make a comment on the matter.</p><p>A high painting of what looks like a night sky is revealed, tiny blue and silver dots painted on the dark background. Atsumu tilts his head.</p><p>“The lanterns?”</p><p>Kioomi mutters something to the evil chameleon, looking at the painting pensively.</p><p>“Next week, for my birthday, they will launch these <em> lanterns </em> in the sky,” he continues, “you will take me there, and then, <em> and only then, </em> will I give you your satchel back. That is my deal,” the man says with a <em> very serious look, </em> too serious, so serious Atsumu thinks he's going to explode at any time, or maybe he's going to burst out laughing; it's undecided.</p><p>“Yeah no,” Atsumu grimaces, “the Kingdom and I are not <em> friends </em> at the moment, so I won't be taking you there, sorry.”</p><p>“Something brought you here: fate, destiny-” Kiyoomi starts.</p><p>“-a horse,” Atsumu cuts him off with an eyeroll</p><p>“So, I have made the decision to trust you,” Kiyoomi ignores him.</p><p>“A horrible decision, really,” Atsumu comments with a sigh.</p><p>“But trust<em> me, </em> when I tell you this: you can tear this tower apart brick by brick, rip my nails off but without my help, you will never find your precious satchel.” </p><p>Dramatic, much?</p><p>An exasperated groan leaves Atsumu's mouth in response, but Kiyoomi doesn’t back up; he looks at him with all the seriousness possible on this earth. It's the first time Atsumu looks at him, with all his focus; first, he notices the two moles on his forehead, staring back at him. His eyes are black, deep dark pools of molten petroleum, contrasting with the light silver glow of his hair- Atsumu can feel himself blush. </p><p><em> Stop that, 'Tsumu, </em>Osamu's voice yells in his head.</p><p>He clears his throat, making imaginary Osamu vanish, focusing back on Kiyoomi.</p><p>“Let me sum this up: you want me to take you to see the lanterns, bring you back here in your lil’ tower, and you’ll give me my satchel back.”</p><p>“I promise,” Kiyoomi nods with a ridiculously solemn expression, “and when I promise something, I never break my promise, ever.”</p><p>“Alright,” Atsumu starts with a small sigh, “I didn't want to have to do this, but you leave me no choice, Omi-omi!” </p><p>This is not a harmless threat, he only uses this weapon of his when he’s in real trouble. He takes a deep breath, looking at Kiyoomi, wriggling his eyebrows, hoping he will give up with this simple threat- but he doesn’t, only looks at him with an indifferent stare. </p><p>Too bad.</p><p>Atsumu blinks slowly, and when he opens his eyes again, he looks at the man in front of his with slightly widened eyes, conveying as much pitifulness as he can. <em> You are a small kicked puppy now, Atsumu, </em> he screams at his brain, <em> your soul must embody the energy of the kicked puppy! </em>Atsumu is good at channeling the energy of the kicked puppy. </p><p>Puppy eyes that always WORKED ON HIS MOM AND IZUMI, the only person it didn't work on was Osamu, but that’s because his puppy eyes are even better. Or because he doesn't have a heart- yeah, this might be the reason why he doesn't fall for Atsumu's ridiculously wide, bright, shiny, hopeful eyes-</p><p>Kiyoomi stares at him with total indifference, the only emotion shown on his face being <em> confusion.  </em></p><p>
  <em> Fuck. </em>
</p><p>ERR_HEART_NOT_FOUND</p><p>“This really isn’t my day,” Atsumu groans.</p><p>His kicked-puppy energy returns inside him, hiding behind his own existing heart, to be used again in the future, hopefully more successfully.</p><p>“Fine, I’ll take you to the lanterns.”</p><p>Kiyoomi grins and looks at the chameleon with a bright smile.</p><p>- ✧ -</p><p>Atsumu watches the other man gather his things in a small leather bag with the help of his chameleon. The reptile still frequently stops doing whatever a chameleon does, to look at Atsumu with its big suspicious, manipulative eyes. The silver hair is still tightly tying him to the chair; making it impossible for him to flee as Kiyoomi has his back turned.</p><p>He only releases him when he’s ready to leave, pointing his index finger at the window.</p><p>“Let’s go.”</p><p>The hair around his wrists finally loosen up, and he groans when the blood starts rushing in his hands again, making his skin tingly.</p><p>Atsumu stands up, looking around him one last time- there’s no escape except for the tiny window, and his satchel is nowhere in sight. <em> Ugh. </em>He will have to take Kiyoomi to the lanterns.</p><p><em> Fine. </em>The sewage system can still wait for a few weeks.</p><p>He sighs and starts climbing down the tower, small meter by small meter, but Kiyoomi isn't following. <em> Weird. </em></p><p>Until he feels more than he sees, something falling behind him in full speed. When he looks down to see <em> what the hell </em> that was, his eyes land on the small silhouette of Kiyoomi sliding down towards the ground, using his hair as a rope.</p><p>Must be useful, but also an <em> absolute </em> pain in the ass to wash if you ask him. He already hates having to put soap in his hair every two days; can't even picture himself having to let meters of hair dry. That's probably one of the reasons why living in a tower with no obligation probably is for the best; because who would be able to work with hair like that? He tries to imagine Kiyoomi riding a horse with a Corona guard uniform, meters of hair flying behind him, hitting his guard friends and colleagues on his way-</p><p><em> Hm. </em> </p><p>Funny, but very incapacitating.</p><p>Atsumu keeps climbing down the tower and reaches the ground even before Kiyoomi, because the man's now hanging a few centimetres above the ground, looking at the green grass under him like it might bite his toes and eat him whole.</p><p>He watches as he finally slides down to the ground, as he puts his foot on the grass, a small smile spreading on his lips. It’s that kind of smile that you just can’t hide, no matter how in control you usually are, that smile that screams happiness, excitement, pride- It looks good on Kiyoomi. </p><p>“I’m outside,” he whispers, <em> “I’m free.”  </em></p><p>It sounds hopeful, but also like he doesn’t really believe it, and Atsumu can only look at him, incredulity painted over his features, because <em> Kiyoomi never left his tower? </em>He’s not sure to understand exactly what is happening, but the more he listens to Kiyoomi’s whispers- the more Atsumu can feel this guy pique his curiosity. </p><p>“It’s just like I dreamed it would be,” he says, fingers threading through the grass stalks, eyes weirdly soft for someone who's just looking at <em>grass.</em> </p><p>Atsumu looks at him incredulously, but only shows it for a few seconds before shrugging. The kingdom is full of weird people with unique almost unbelievable stories after all. He points at the vine curtain.</p><p>“That way.”</p><p>Kiyoomi nods; there’s something <em> changed </em> in him, as if putting a foot on the ground made his aura just appear slightly warmer, slightly more solid, more steady. It has the confidence of the second flap of a baby bird’s wings.</p><p>“I did it! I can’t believe- mother would be so furious,” he says, when he reaches Atsumu on the other side of the vine curtain. </p><p><em> Mother issues, then, </em> Atsumu notes. <em> Interesting.  </em></p><p>The Kingdom's capital is only a single-day journey away from here, so they should arrive too early for the lantern ceremony; how troublesome. Unless he manages to convince Kiyoomi that he could give him the crown back-</p><p>For now he's too busy following a bee with his eyes, mouth slightly open in unhidden fascination.</p><p>But as soon as the bee lefts-</p><p>“I’m such a horrible son,” Kiyoomi mumbles next to him, shooting a random rock with his foot, biting his nails.</p><p>The journey is going to be long. It’s only a day, he tells himself. Only twenty-four hours, then twenty-four other hours until the ceremony, then twenty-four additional hours to go back to the tower, get his bag back. It’s been a while since he last sat to look at the lanterns anyway.</p><p>
  <em> Maybe he deserves this unexpected small holiday.  </em>
</p><p>He still remembers the time when he would sit with his family on the balcony to watch the lanterns flying, small blue and white dots floating far away in the night sky. Osamu would usually fall asleep before they would disappear, but Atsumu and Izumi always ended up trying to count how many were launched. Maybe once the sewage system is fixed, he definitely should go back to his parents’ for a while, drink a few bottles of wine, hang out with Osamu and Izumi, say hi to Kita.</p><p>Yeah, he deserves some rest. </p><p>Looking back at Kiyoomi, he tilts his head in confusion when he sees him in great communion with a tree; his forehead resting against the brown bark, arms wrapped around the trunk. </p><p>The rest of the journey goes on very eventfully; at least it does so inside Kiyoomi’s head because whatever is bothering him is really making him go through a wild dragon-ride of emotions. </p><p>
  <em> (‘I’m never going back to my tower,’ he announces when he crouches in front of a yellow flower to smell it. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> ‘I’m such a terrible human being,’ he whines a few minutes later, arms wrapped around his knees, looking at the river with empty eyes.  </em>
</p><p>
  <em> ‘This is the best day ever,” he says once he steps into the same river, feeling the cold water on his feet for the first time. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> It goes on like this for a few hours.) </em>
</p><p>Kiyoomi is now sitting on a rock, chin resting in his hands, eyes staring at the void, clearly lost, with his shoulders lowered. Atsumu sighs; it’s the fourth time they have to stop walking for the white-haired man to whine about being a <em> terrible son. </em>But this time, he doesn’t say anything, and his eyes look like they're annoyed at the grass, nose wrinkled in a disapproving frown. </p><p>This masquerade has been going on for too long.</p><p>Atsumu comes to sit next to him on his rock. Maybe that’s his cue to finally try something;</p><p>“You look a bit at war with yourself here, Omi-omi,” he starts with a small pat on Kiyoomi’s shoulder, but the man immediately moves away from him, “I’m not aware of everything that is going on in your life, and I’ve only picked up bits and pieces: sooo- let’s see: overprotective mother, forbidden road trip; this is serious stuff! But let me ease your conscience, this is what comes with growing up! Just a little rebellion, adventure, that’s good- healthy, even. I did it too!”</p><p>He doesn’t tell him that the first thing he did against his parents’ wishes, the first step on his own growing-up path, was to get drunk with some of the most expensive wines the Miyas have in their cellar.</p><p>“You’re just overthinking this! Does your mom deserve it? No. Will it hurt her and crush her soul? Most probably. Will you be deserving of the deepest parts of hell? Sure; but you have to do it.”</p><p>“Break her heart? Crush her soul? Deepest parts of hell?” Kiyoomi whispers with a terrified expression.</p><p>“For sure,” Atsumu nods solemnly.</p><p>“You’re right,” Kiyoomi’s voice is small as he looks down, slowly realizing what he’s done, fear overtaking him- guilt washing over him- <em> perfect. </em></p><p>“I always am, Omi! But- <em> ugh, </em>god, I can’t believe I’m saying this-” Atsumu says with a dramatic sigh, full of hypocritical remorse, “but I’ll let you out of our deal!” </p><p>He closes his eyes and nods wisely in the same way Kita does, but somehow, he feels like it doesn’t look as <em>sane</em> as Kita does. He might be able to summon his inner kicked-puppy perfectly, but his wise-farmer energy still needs to be worked on.</p><p>“Mmmh- <em> Wait what?” </em>Kiyoomi stares at him with an offended face. </p><p>“That’s right,” Atsumu grins, “don’t thank me, I’m just the generous type.”</p><p>Their eyes meet and he can see the flicker of hesitation in Kiyoomi’s dark eyes- <em> Perfect. </em></p><p>“We just have to turn around,” Atsumu smiles, taking Kiyoomi’s pan from the floor and putting it in his hands, “to get you home with your bag, your pan and your frog. Then you give me back my bag, and you go back to your wonderful mother-son relationship based on trust and love and mutual respect- and <em> voilà, </em>we part ways as friends!”</p><p>“No!” Kiyoomi shakes his head, gripping his pan tightly as he stands up, “I will see these lanterns! I want to see them, I said I would see them this year, and when I start something, I finish it!” </p><p>His pan is now very close to Atsumu’s face; “I won’t refrain from using this,” he warns with his eyes squinted, threatening him with a murderous glare. Atsumu can feel the goosebumps on his arms, <em> if a look could kill- </em>why is this slightly turning him on?</p><p>They enter a stupid staring contest, and Atsumu isn’t near to being close to give up when a noise comes from their left- what if it’s the guards? He can’t let Kiyoomi win but- he sighs and turns his head to see a small bush moving- what if it’s the twins? </p><p>“Is it a monster? Or thugs? Are they <em> coming for me?” </em>Kiyoomi starts to panic.</p><p>Or even worse; what if it’s <em> the horse? </em></p><p>He sees Kiyoomi tighten his grip around the pan handle, ready to attack whatever is coming for them, before the bush starts shaking more and the extra diegetic music gets louder and louder- with a loud cry, Kiyoomi jumps away from the bush to climb Atsumu like it’s a tree, face hidden in his neck-</p><p>
  <em>Well now, if it’s the horse, he’s fucked.  </em>
</p><p>The bush moves, shakes, he holds his breath, ready to run or to take Kiyoomi’s pan to hit the horse in the face- </p><p>It’s a rabbit. </p><p>A small little rabbit with a small round tail, and a pink nose, and big shiny eyes that are now staring at them innocently. <em> Fuck.  </em></p><p>He exhales slowly. It’s a rabbit. It takes a few seconds for the surprise to leave his own features, before he whispers with a smirk.</p><p>“Don’t move, Omi-omi, it can feel your fear.”</p><p>Kiyoomi rolls his eyes. The arms he wrapped around Atsumu’s chest leaving him as he falls back on the ground. </p><p>“Sorry, I guess I’m just nervous.”</p><p>“So, I take from this that it would be best if we managed to avoid monsters and thugs, am I right?”</p><p>Kiyoomi apparently doesn’t notice the amused tone in his voice, the badly hidden <em> threat </em> behind Atsumu’s words. He only laughs quietly, probably still embarrassed about his reaction to the rabbit.</p><p>“Yes, I guess that would be best,” he whispers, looking at Atsumu with almost <em> hopeful </em>eyes.</p><p>Well, if he can’t manipulate the man into giving the bag back to him; he’s going to force him to- well, he's not going to force him himself- but, yeah, that should work. The plan is perfect, his mind is a work of genius and there’s no way this is ever going to fail.</p><p>“Aren’t you hungry?” Atsumu asks suddenly with a charming grin.</p><p>“Sure.”</p><p>“Nice!” Atsumu smiles brightly and naturally takes Kiyoomi by the hand to lead him towards the road, “I know a great place for lunch!”</p><p>- ✧ -</p><p>They walk side by side, Atsumu whistling an old tune while Kiyoomi looks at him with curiosity, only turning his gaze away whenever Atsumu looks back at him.</p><p>The restaurant is located in a small house with two chimneys; the wood board fixed above the door read <em> ‘The Snuggly Duckling’, </em>and it's surrounded by trees, and a river, and flowers are even growing around the road leading to the place.</p><p>“It's a very chill restaurant, not scary at all, serves good food,” he pats Kiyoomi on the shoulder, fingers brushing the expensive blue fabric of his jacket- it's surprisingly soft. Kiyoomi shrugs, looking at the name of the building.</p><p>“I guess I don’t hate ducks.”</p><p><em> Wonderful, </em>everything is going perfectly according to his plan.</p><p>“Your finest table, please!” Atsumu yells as soon as he opens the door, careful to breathe with his mouth instead of his nose.</p><p>The first words that come to his mind when he looks around him are <em> dirty, dangerous, messy. </em> Exactly what he was looking for. The wood hasn’t been waxed maybe <em> ever, </em> and there are traces of food and blood everywhere on the floor, on the low ceilings, on the walls- and it <em> smells </em> like men, and old meat. It smells <em> brown.  </em></p><p>The only light comes from two small windows and the fireplace at the back of the room, but apart from that, it’s pretty dark inside the restaurant. Even if he knew what to expect, it still feels suffocating. The ceiling isn’t high enough considering the height -and the width- of some of its clients; they’re all local thugs, famous for making the forest around the tavern the worst place to travel at night.</p><p>“That’s a lot of hair,” one of the thugs mumbles, his eyes following the meters of white hair sliding on the dirty floor.</p><p>They walk inside the small room, heading towards the counter to <em>maybe</em> order something to drink.</p><p>“You know, maybe we should leave- call it a day- go back home. If you can’t handle this, you can’t expect to be able to handle the city-” Atsumu smiles charmingly at Kiyoomi’s terrified expression; <em> good. </em> He smoothly  leads them towards the door, still grinning smugly. </p><p>And Kiyoomi is actually taking the bait- But just before he can reach the door handle, Kiyoomi following him; one of the thugs, one with a hook, closes the wooden door in front of his face, pointing at one of the <em> WANTED </em>portraits with his face on it.</p><p>“Is this you?” he asks.</p><p>“Now that’s just mean! Look at this nose! It can’t be me!”</p><p>“I think it is you,” another thug remarks, looking back and forth between the notice and Atsumu.</p><p>He feels a drop of sweat sliding from his temple to his cheek- <em> he’s in deep fucking trouble. </em></p><p>He only has the time to gasp before they start throwing him from one pair of strong gigantic arms into others, voices claiming they saw him first; as if their visual capacity would grant them a stronger chance to get the ransom; <em>he just stole a fucking silver crown, for fucks sake, </em>and the ransom is probably higher than the worth of the crown itself (which is flattering, to be honest)</p><p>He’s screaming at them to let him go before they rip a limb away from his body or simply kill him; but something hits the head of the thug with the hook, who was about to hit his face to make him shut up.</p><p>“PUT HIM DOWN!” Kiyoomi’s voice rises behind him, “<em> UGH! </em> Okay, I have no idea where I am, but I <b>need </b> <em> him,” </em>he points at Atsumu with his pan, “to take me to the lanterns, because I’ve been dreaming about it for my entire life!”</p><p>In one smooth motion, like a flight of birds, they all turn their heads to look at Kiyoomi who used his hair to throw something at them.</p><p>He’s looking at them with a pleading look, “SHOW SOME HUMANITY, FOR LOVE’S SAKE! Don’t you have a <em> dream?” </em></p><p>There's a second of silence, and Atsumu doesn't know if they're both going to die- or if they're both going to die.</p><p>“It’s true, I had a dream once,” the thug with the hook admits at the same time he moves away from Atsumu to come and sit next to Kiyoomi on the dirty wooden bench, “I might look evil, with my hook, but I’m good at playing the piano, you know? So yeah, I have a dream too: earn money with my music, stop killing people...”</p><p>“Yeah, me too!” Another thug says, standing up to declare, “I might be ugly and have too many toes, and a really big nose, but I can picture this lady who will stay with me on a gondola in Venise; in my dreams, I’m a lover, not a fighter.”</p><p>Atsumu blinks slowly, looking at all the thugs now sitting around Kiyoomi, confessing their dreams, talking about their insecurities- and Kiyoomi smiles at them with soft and gentle eyes, nodding to whetever they tell him.</p><p>
  <em> (‘When I was a child I dreamt a lot, the child’s still here, deep inside, even if no one is interested in meeting him. My dream is to meet people who want to make this inner child happy.’ </em>
</p><p>
  <em> ‘I’d like to quit and become a florist,’ another one says. A more simple dream, but who is he to judge? </em>
</p><p>
  <em> ‘I want to go into interior design.’ </em>
</p><p>
  <em> ‘That guy wishes he could be a mime.’ </em>
</p><p>
  <em> ‘Baking is my passion,’ another one confesses, and Atsumu immediately thinks about Osamu. What is he doing right now? Probably travelling the world to sell his wine- living his dream. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> ‘I’d like to do crosswords forever.’ </em>
</p><p>
  <em> ‘Wakatoshi collects ceramic unicorns,’ and he dedicated his life to completing said collection.) </em>
</p><p>Kiyoomi listens to them all, validating every dream they confess, smiling politely- but with no seeable hypocrisy. And Atsumu can’t help but feel slightly envious of the gentleness in the other man’s eyes, the sincere warmth he shows everyone.</p><p>“And you, what’s your dream?” one of the thugs asks him.</p><p>All eyes turn in his direction, and Atsumu pales.</p><p>“I don’t have any, really-”</p><p>“Everyone has a dream”, the flower guy deadpans, looking at him with an unconvinced expression. </p><p>Quickly, they all raise their sword a bit too close to his throat, making him gulp with difficulty. </p><p>
  <em>Right. </em>
</p><p>“I guess- owning an island, where I’m living alone with a lot of money?”</p><p>“I just want to see the lanterns.” Kiyoomi finally declares, “I’m so glad I left my tower, this is the first time I speak with such lovely folks! And in a few days I will finally see the lanterns in the sky. I cannot wait,” Kiyoomi tells them, eyes shining with hope and trepidation.</p><p>They’re all listening to him and his smooth voice, nodding with soft smiles- he brought smiles on the thugs’ face <em> what the- </em> but Atsumu doesn’t even have the time to process this because he starts listening to Kiyoomi too, eyes captured by the pink of his cheeks, the pensive look in his eyes when he talks about having been wanting to see them for <em> years, </em> the soft smile on his lips when he says <em> ‘but he’s going to bring me to the city, so I can see them for real!’ </em></p><p>For the first time, Atsumu starts considering actually bringing him to the lanterns without trying to convince him to turn around. His heart feels strangely light when his eyes meet Kiyoomi’s hopeful ones, warmer, when he smiles at him like he’s saying <em> thank you.  </em></p><p>But as soon as their small bubble was created, it explodes.</p><p>“THE GUARDS! They’re coming!” a thug warns them from the window, just before the door opens in a loud <em> bang </em> and an entire squad of guards enter the restaurant.</p><p>“Where’s Okami? <em> Where is he?” </em></p><p>Atsumu only has the time to pull Kiyoomi against his chest, leading him behind the counter to hide from the guards' view. The captain’s voice rises from the door. </p><p>“I know he is here. Turn the place upside down if you have to, but we need this crown back!”</p><p><em> Such a fuss for a fucking crown, just make a new one (for me to steal later), </em>he thinks. </p><p>But his heart is beating at full speed, mind racing so fast smoke might start come out from his ears, and panic just rises and rises inside his chest. He makes himself breathe more steadily. </p><p><em> Okay, you can do this. </em> </p><p>He just has to stay here and not make a noise, hope that the thugs are not going to betray him. But his head is worth at least half a million golden coins; and loyalty is just as strong as a good pile of gold.</p><p>The guards are getting closer to the counter, he can hear them clearly; he’s getting ready to fight when a silhouette appears above them. He exhales silently in relief, when he recognizes the thug with the hook who pushes a button, revealing a hidden trapdoor on the floor.</p><p>
  <em> Oh, thank god.  </em>
</p><p>The thug is standing behind them to hide them from the guards's eyes.</p><p>“Go, live your dream,” the thug says thoughtfully, voice almost hopeful.</p><p>“I will, thank you,” Atsumu reassures him, patting his <em> enormous </em> shoulder with a smug smile.</p><p>“Not yours. Yours sucks, Okami. I was talking about his. Bring him to the lanterns, or I'll come find you.”</p><p><em> Oh. </em> </p><p>Well Kiyoomi is indeed a charming fella, but he wasn't expecting them all to just <em> fall for him </em>like that. But sure.</p><p>“Thank you for everything,” Kiyoomi says to the thug, with a soft smile so bright, it's almost audible.</p><p>Suddenly, Atsumu can see, maybe even weirdly understand, what they see in him, and his dream, and his smile that lights up his entire face, although it's only a small stretch of his lips.</p><p>Yeah, he's starting to see.</p><p>- ✧ -</p><p>The hidden passage is a tunnel under the ground that seems like it’s part of an abandoned mining site. Kiyoomi is running next to him, holding his hair in his arms to avoid stepping on it. </p><p>“I’m impressed, that was actually really cool,” Atsumu admits once they’ve reached a deeper part of the tunnel. </p><p>Every time his mind goes back to what just happened, to how Kiyoomi just <em> charmed </em> the entire thug gang, he needs to take a mental break; it’s unbelievable. Why would someone so good with other people ever want to go back to a life where the only person he’d see is his mother? Why would someone so kind be willing to be trapped at the top of a hidden tower? </p><p>Kiyoomi looks up to meet Atsumu’s eyes, slightly blushing, pink barely visible under the yellow light of the torches. He smiles softly, shrugging.</p><p>“Yeah, I know,” but he giggles, eyes on the floor, clearly avoiding his gaze.</p><p>They keep walking at a moderate pace; Atsumu too buried inside his own thoughts to do anything else than follow the tunnel. No matter how much he tries to think about anything else, the brief moment when Kiyoomi and him just <em> saw each other, </em>opening a door that he never allowed himself to look at before- it keeps coming back to his brain.</p><p>Kiyoomi finally breaks the silence with a side smile, curiosity lighting up his eyes. </p><p>“So, where do you come from, Inari Ōkami?” </p><p>The yellow and oranges coming from the flames of the torches are reflected in the dark pools of his irises, making looking at him feel hypnotizing. </p><p>“Ah you know- nothing interesting,” Atsumu shrugs, not wanting to dwell on the details, “-unlike <em> your life, Omi-omi,” </em>he teases with a grin.</p><p>Kiyoomi looks at him with an almost sorry smile.</p><p>“I know I can’t mention the hair-” Atsumu starts, making Kiyoomi hum in approval. There’s something about the hair. It obviously has never been cut, for whatever reason, and people have tried to steal it- that’s all he knows for now. </p><p>“-the mother,-” he continues, and Kiyoomi sighs, a silent approval. Whatever his mother’s deal is, she doesn’t want him to leave the tower, probably for a reason tied to the hair and the hair thieves. </p><p>“-and to be honest, I’m too scared to ask about the frog,” he jokes, looking at the reptile who’s already staring at him with an amused gaze.</p><p><em>“Chameleon!</em> His name’s Tooru,” Kiyoomi tells him with a soft giggle.</p><p><em> He giggles. </em>He met the guy a few hours ago, but he can already say that he’s not the type to giggle easily. Always keeping a serious composure, trying to act all serious; he obviously tries to avoid looking like an idiot who doesn't know anything- but even Atsumu wouldn't find it in him to mock him for not knowing thing. After all, he never had the chance to leave his isolated tower; that's not his fault.</p><p>“Same thing,” Atsumu shrugs, “but there’s something that I don’t understand. If you want to see the lanterns so bad, why have you never been there before?”</p><p>Of course, he got the hints that he never left the tower, that it’s probably linked to whatever the deal with his hair is, and his mother- but it’s not like he ever heard of hair worth a lot of gold- <em> because trust him, he would have heard of a treasure like that. </em></p><p>“Well- I- uhm-” Kiyoomi starts, eyes dropping towards the floor.</p><p>Unfortunately, Atsumu doesn’t have the time to dig further into the matter before the walls of the tunnel start to shake, the sound of horses’ hoofs hitting the ground clearly getting closer already; they found the hidden passage. </p><p>“ŌKAMI!” the guards shout.</p><p>
  <em> Uh-oh. </em>
</p><p>“RUN,” he tells Kiyoomi, taking his wrist between his fingers to pull him forward.</p><p>- ✧ -</p><p>By the time the guards catch up with them, they have reached the exit of the tunnel, leading them to a high platform on the side of one of the main dams of the Kingdom. The canyon is made of orange sand and red rocks, plants made dry under the unforgiving sunlight in this part of the realm. Atsumu blinks a few times, trying to get used to the light after being in the tunnel for half an hour; but as soon as he starts to see, the horses have caught up with them, guards shouting his name-</p><p>“It’s over for you, Ōka-”</p><p>“No, it’s not.” It’s Kiyoomi who speaks, eyes dark when he looks at the guard’s surprised face.</p><p>He shoves his pan inside Atsumu’s hands; a really smart decision because <em> the horse </em> appears at the same moment, evil eyes glaring at him. But now, Atsumu has a weapon, and he intends to use it. So, when the horse approaches, with a sword in its mouth, ready for a duel, Atsumu is ready to counter his attack with the pan, using the heavy object to hit another human guard with it. The poor man falls on the floor, unconscious.</p><p>“Who are y-” But the guard doesn’t have the time to finish his sentence because Kiyoomi is already throwing his hair on the other side of the canyon like a rope and jumps from the platform they’ve been standing on, not before wrapping an arm around Atsumu’s waist to take him with him in his hopefully non-fatal jump. </p><p>They land on a wooden construction that’s holding a part of the dam in place; Kiyoomi points towards the stairs. Atsumu nods and follows him to the bottom part of the canyon where the river should have been, if the dam hadn’t been there. </p><p>“Catch him!” one of the guards screams.</p><p>And suddenly, there’s a loud <em> bang </em> behind them; Atsumu only allows himself to turn his head for a few seconds, just enough time to see the dam cracking from the bottom to the top, water overflowing- </p><p>“Omi- Run!”</p><p>His eyes immediately focus on the entrance of what looks like a small cave. He doesn’t know if it’s a way out, but it surely is better than being stuck against a wall, waiting for the water to simply drown you. It gives him an immediate goal- so, he runs.</p><p>They reach the cave just before a wooden structure built above the entrance crumbles down from the vibrations caused by the dam breaking and the water filling the canyon.</p><p>But the rubble that fell in front of the entrance isn’t enough to keep the water out of the cave, and the place is quickly getting submerged by water too. The water level is rising, slowly but surely, and they end up floating, not even touching the ground, in only a few minutes. Thank god for the high ceiling of the cave;  Atsumu inhales deeply, swimming towards the bottom of the cave.</p><p>Squinting his eyes, he tries to find a possible exit, a weak rock that might reveal a secret tunnel, <em> anything. </em>But it’s too dark, and he can only do so much, blindly searching with his hands, touching the cold stone in hope of finding something. But it’s too dark, almost pitch black- and he already can’t breathe anymore- he groans, bubbles leaving his mouth as he swims back to the surface.</p><p>“I can’t see anything down there, I can’t find an exit in the dark!” </p><p>He’s about to go back under the surface anyway, because he won’t just <em> wait </em>for the water to drown him when Kiyoomi starts to speak.</p><p>“This is all my fault,” the man whispers as he stares at the dark water, refusing to look at him, “I never should have done this- I should never have left- I’m sorry about this, Inari.”</p><p>This time, his eyes rise up to meet his, and something inside him breaks- <em> he’s really going to die here, isn’t he?</em></p><p> Atsumu sighs and instead of swimming back down, he only uses his arms to stay at the surface, unfortunately noticing how closer to his face the roof is getting.</p><p><em>“Atsumu.</em> My real name is Atsumu Miya,” he whispers with a small smile, that he hopes looks sincere, “if I’m going to die, I might as well do it with someone who knows my real name, at least.”</p><p>“I have magic hair that glows when I sing,” Kiyoomi admits in return, like he’s relieved that he can finally share his secret with someone, with a weight lifted from his shoulders- serenity looks good on his delicate features, Atsumu muses before the words finally hit his brain.</p><p>“You have- Wait- What?”</p><p>“I have magic hair that glows when I sing,” Kiyoomi repeats, more to himself than for Atsumu apparently, because his eyes widen as he starts saying it again- “I have- Yes!” </p><p>His face light up as he smiles in an expression of triumph; the water level has reached their shoulders, and it’s only a matter of seconds before it reaches the roof of the cave, drowning them for real.</p><p><em> “Flowergleamandglow,letyourpowershine,maketheclockreverse,bringbackwhatmmmpfh-” </em>Kiyoomi hurriedly sings, the melody unfamiliar to Atsumu’s ears.</p><p>They’re fully underwater now, but as soon as Atsumu opens his eyes, he has to refrain himself from gasping; the entirety of Kiyoomi’s hair is now glowing in a soft white light, silver hair falling around them and down to the ground, illuminating the entire cave. Kiyoomi doesn’t wait for Atsumu to regain his senses before swimming down in search for an exit. </p><p>The blond thief swiftly follows him, almost immediately noticing a peak of light coming from behind a rock in the wall; he only has to tug at it for the rock to fall on the ground, revealing a potential entrance- and therefore, exit. They both pull at the rocks around the hole, allowing the water to leave the inside of the cave, extreme pressure making the pile of rocks blocking the exit explode. Atsumu’s not far from passing out when his body is expelled from the cave, thrown inside the river that’s flowing on the other side of the entrance.</p><p>Overwhelmed by the relief of being alive, it takes a few seconds for him to start swimming towards the shore, following Kiyoomi who’s already out of the water, coughing water out of his mouth.</p><p><em> “His hair is glowing, his hair- it glows!” </em> is the first thing he says, laying face down on the grass. He looks at Tooru who just raises his reptilian eyebrows, “<em>why does his hair GLOW that’s not- it does not exist!” </em></p><p>“Atsumu,” Kiyoomi tries to make him get quieter, or maybe to reassure him? <em> But his hair glows! </em> “Atsumu”</p><p>“Your hair-”</p><p>“It- it doesn’t just glow.”</p><p>
  <em> What the fuck? </em>
</p><p>- ✧ -</p><p>They quickly set up the camp for the night. They should have reached the city already by now, but with this little inconvenience, they’ll still have to walk for a bit before reaching the Kingdom’s main island where the royal castle was built. Kiyoomi is strangely good at setting up a fire considering Atsumu is way less efficient than usual, his mind too full of <em>'</em><em> Kiyoomi’s hair glows in the dark' </em>kind of thoughts.</p><p>He’s less efficient, but he’s careless too, and when he ends up cutting himself while tripping over his own foot, arms full of wood logs, Kiyoomi calls his name softly. They only have to find wood to last the night, and then they can finally go to sleep- they deserve a good night of sleep, Atsumu decides. </p><p>“I have to show you something,” Kiyoomi tells him, making him sit down on a tree trunk. </p><p>“Okay?” Atsumu replies suspiciously; </p><p>He’s trying very hard not to think about <em> why does Kiyoomi’s hair glow in the dark when he sings, okay? </em> But it’s almost impossible to ignore the stream of thoughts when Kiyoomi starts wrapping his hand with his hair, making Atsumu hiss when it comes in contact with the cut in his palm. With the focus being on his hair and only his hair, Atsumu’s mind goes wild, <em> what if he can turn his hair into blades, and he’s about to lose his hand right now?  </em></p><p>Kiyoomi starts to sing, his hair starting to glow like earlier today; this time Atsumu can really look at it, eyes widening at the sight of the silver hair glowing with a soft white light that illuminates their faces in a cold but soothing gleam. </p><p>
  <em> Flower,  </em>
</p><p>
  <em> gleam  </em>
</p><p>
  <em> and glow </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Let your power shine </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Make the clock reverse </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Bring back what  </em>
</p><p>
  <em> once  </em>
</p><p>
  <em> was mine </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Heal  </em>
</p><p>
  <em> what has been hurt </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Change  </em>
</p><p>
  <em> the fates' design </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Save  </em>
</p><p>
  <em> what has been lost </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Bring back  </em>
</p><p>
  <em> what once was mine- </em>
</p><p>
  <em> -what once was mine </em>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>Atsumu wasn’t honestly expecting to be so hypnotized by Kiyoomi’s soft voice as he sings, but his heart skips a beat when his eyes leave the glowing hair to settle on the man’s elegant features, illuminated in white almost blueish light, making his eyes look almost grey instead of pitch black. The moles on his forehead are also more visible, contrasting with the paleness of his face, accentuated by clear light.</p><p>The white glow quickly reaches the tip of Kiyoomi’s hair that is wrapped around his hand; Atsumu gasps when he feels a small tickling sensation at the place where the cut is, deep in his palm- it feels like mint soap on his skin.</p><p>Once he stops singing, the glow retreats, hair back to their soft silver colour, but he’s not looking at Kiyoomi anymore; instead, he stares at his hand. </p><p>It’s completely healed.</p><p>His mouth is already opened and he’s ready to scream but Kiyoomi puts his hand over his lips. </p><p>“Don’t freak out, <em> Miya.” </em></p><p>The scream ends up being only a small whine that escapes his mouth before Kiyoomi puts his hand away. </p><p>“Mother says that when I was a baby, people tried to cut it,” he explains, “they wanted to selfishly take my hair for themselves. But once it’s cut, it turns black and starts curling.”</p><p>He shows him a short strand of black hair next to his ear,</p><p>“Then, the powers don’t work any longer. It’s a precious gift; and it needs to be protected- that’s why mother doesn’t allow me to leave the tower; that’s why I never could go to see the lanterns.”</p><p>His voice is soft and Atsumu almost sense regrets, or nostalgia- something deeply sad in his tone, that makes him want to wrap his arms around him and comfort him- <em> stop this.  </em></p><p>“So,” he continues, changing the subject rapidly, <em>“Miya Atsumu, uh?”</em></p><p>Atsumu grins and shrugs; he’s not really <em> ashamed </em> of his real identity, simply doesn’t feel trusting enough to usually talk about it. But after what Kiyoomi just showed him, lying would feel <em> polluted.  </em></p><p>“Yeah. Inari Ōkami is a powerful deity and all- Using this name felt like I could do <em> anything, </em>so I started using it when I needed to feel brave, when I needed people to trust me. In the end, I think I ended up believing in Inari more than I did in Atsumu. I built my reputation as a thief and kind of lost- lost myself in it.”</p><p>Kiyoomi nods slowly, obviously drinking his words with unusual <em> vulnerability </em> in his eyes, like he’s really seeing him, but also allowing him to <em> see </em>him in return.</p><p>“This stays between us, right?” Atsumu asks, “my reputation is everything I have, I can’t afford it being ruined if anyone was to learn that I’m actually not as powerful as a deity; that I’m only <em> human. </em>”</p><p>The only people who get to see this side of him is his family.</p><p>For the second time in a few hours, he finds himself thinking about them, wishing he could go back home to rest for a bit after this hectic adventure. He had been so busy stealing money from the rich to give to the orphanage, or to other organizations in need, he never found the time to take a break- because there’s always someone new to rob, someone new to help- it never ends.</p><p>“For the record, I like Miya Atsumu more than Inari Okami,” Kiyoomi whispers softly, and his eyes are so open, and he’s not smiling, his mouth in a straight line; and yet, it makes Atsumu’s heart swell, all the same. He manages to timidly smile back. </p><p>Maybe he misses Miya Atsumu too, now that he thinks about it.</p><p>He really should send a letter to Osamu once the orphanage’s sewage system is fixed.</p><p>“Thank you, it doesn’t happen often,” Atsumu whispers, meeting Kiyoomi’s eyes, mesmerized by the flames reflected in there, and he’s <em> so close </em> to just- lean in, his hand is already moving, ready to cup the other man’s cheek to bring him closer- “I have to get some wood for the night,” he finally says, shaking away the need to simply <em> touch </em> Kiyoomi’s skin, to reach out. </p><p>Standing up, he leaves, heading towards the forest, trying to calm the storm going on inside his head.</p><p>- ✧ -</p><p>When he comes back, wood branches gathered inside his arms, talking about the deer he saw while he was gathering the wood logs, Kiyoomi’s expression is closed off again, so familiar and yet so different; it feels wrong.</p><p>Atsumu can't help but feel like something important is bothering the other man; but he simply shrugs- it’s none of his business.</p><p> </p><p>☽ - ✧ - ☾</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>
  <a href="https://twitter.com/yootasuke">twitter</a>
</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. part two.</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>☽ - ✧ - ☾</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <b>PART TWO.</b>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> i'd live and die for moments that we stole </em>
</p><p>
  <em> on begged and borrowed time </em>
</p><p>
  <em> so tell me to run </em>
</p><p>
  <em> or dare to sit and watch what we'll become </em>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>☽ - ✧ - ☾</p><p> </p><p><br/>
<br/>
“We still have a day before the lantern ceremony,” Atsumu tells Kiyoomi on the next day.</p><p>They’re eating berries he gathered from the forest before Kiyoomi even woke up.</p><p>He tries to act casual, smiling smugly at him to not raise any suspicion in the other man’s already too wary brain. But more than that, he doesn’t want Kiyoomi to realize that <em> he cares, </em> he already showed him enough parts of his bare soul. He doesn’t need to see exactly how terribly <em> human </em> Atsumu can be. How weak and sentimental he can be- <em> bleh. </em></p><p>“I have a place I have to go to, an orphanage I’ve been helping- if you want to come with me.”</p><p>“Sure.”</p><p>Atsumu smiles with contempt. Kiyoomi would be the first person to know about his involvement with the orphanage, or any other building he helped to salvage. There’s no point in telling people, only putting the orphanage in danger if the knowledge came to reach the wrong circle’s ears. </p><p>More than that, they also might get in trouble with the Crown for accepting donations from a criminal. </p><p>But Kiyoomi doesn’t look like he’s going to betray him, Kiyoomi doesn’t have a single <em> bad </em> bone in his body. He might be cold sometimes, not <em> very </em> expressive, sarcastic to the point Atsumu has rolled his eyes more than he ever did with anyone else (except Osamu); but he’s a <em> good </em>person. </p><p>Even the thugs saw that.</p><p>- ✧ - </p><p>The two men walk side by side until the sun reaches his zenithal position; he could find himself getting used to the other man’s presence on his left. They don’t talk a lot. Kiyoomi’s too busy looking at the most mundane things with shiny eyes anyway, and Atsumu ends up having to answer questions he never even asked himself.</p><p>It’s midday when they finally reach the orphanage situated in the middle of another, smaller forest. The children are all playing outside, screaming and laughing in a very not discreet way. It’s the end of spring and summer is coming soon; with warmer days, they spend most of their days outside, running in the woods after they’re done with their morning classes.</p><p>One little boy approaches them, screaming his name, stretching his arms towards Atsumu who scoops him up to carry him in his arms, pinching his round cheeks, laughing when he starts pouting. </p><p>“You’ve grown so much since the last time I was here,” he notes with an amused smile. </p><p>The boy looks so proud just from this compliment, Atsumu can only think about himself at this age, always trying to get taller, stronger than Osamu. <em> How time flies, </em>he muses.</p><p>Heading towards the main building to look for the headmistress, he finally puts the boy still attached to his shoulder on the floor.</p><p>“You can stay outside if you want, Omi-omi, it won’t take long!” Atsumu suggests.</p><p>There’s no reason for Kiyoomi to follow him there to discuss sewage systems and other boring topics instead of resting on a wooden bench, enjoying the fresh air and the warm sun in silence.</p><p>“Sure.”</p><p>“Did you fight a Dragon, ‘nari?” the boy asks and Atsumu laughs quietly. </p><p>“Not a dragon, but I fought a horse…”</p><p>He enters the old building, the little boy following him like a shadow as he tells him everything about his epic fight with the satanic horse. If he makes it a bit more dramatic for the sake of it, no one will blame him.</p><p>- ✧ - </p><p>Once he established that the sewage system <em> indeed </em> needs to be fixed, he assures the headmistress that he will come back with more money, one way or another, “I’ll make it possible to renovate it, don’t worry.”</p><p>“Thank you very much, Okami.”</p><p>Smiling politely at the old lady, he finally takes his leave once they’ve discussed everything they had to discuss. After all, he’s still supposed to bring Kiyoomi to the castle before the ceremony, meaning they have to eventually leave the place to head to the royal island. </p><p>Finally, he steps outside, looking for the other man, he tilts his head in confusion when he doesn’t see him on the bench where he was sitting before he left. Looking around him, he doesn’t see as many kids running around either. Jumping from the porch he starts looking for Kiyoomi, not really knowing where to look at. </p><p>There’s a cacophony of children laughing coming from behind the trees; maybe the children have seen him.</p><p>The noises lead him to a small pond; the children are gathered around Kiyoomi who’s crouching on the edge of the small stretch of water. </p><p>The sun is hidden behind the leaves, making the light soft and gentle over the entire scene, reflecting in the water in small sparkles. Once he gets closer, he distinguishes an adult yellow duck floating in front of the white-haired man, followed by its little ducklings. Kiyoomi is currently throwing bread crumbs at them, making the children giggle and gasp in admiration as the watch the animals eat the food, flapping their wings.</p><p>It doesn’t feel as wrong as he thought it would, to see Kiyoomi with children and animals, in a place he never allowed anyone to see. The man looks serene, peaceful, not even slightly annoyed at the surrounding noises. At some point, he turns his head to look at one of the children and starts to speak with a soft smile. Atsumu doesn’t know what he says, but there’s pride in Kiyoomi’s eyes when the child burst out laughing.</p><p>“Atsumu,” Kiyoomi whispers once he notices him, smiling at him; he almost feels guilty to interrupt him.</p><p>“We have to leave, Omi,” he says with a sad smile; and he’s really close to suggest that they might come back after the lantern ceremony- but he’s only taking him there to get the crown back; it wouldn’t make sense to lose even more time. Kiyoomi nods and stands up, smiling at the children before joining Atsumu.</p><p>“Ready?” the blond man asks, and he’s really close to reach for his fingers, to intertwine them together and touch his skin, to just- just get <em> closer. </em></p><p>But he doesn’t.</p><p>“Yes, let’s go.”</p><p>- ✧ - </p><p>The river flows lazily next to the road, and they walk in silence; if Kiyoomi looks at him when he thinks Atsumu isn’t paying attention, he decides not to tease him about it- it’s not like he’s not doing it himself.</p><p>There’s something different even in the way he walks, he notices. When they first met, he could tell the confidence was just an act, that the square shoulders didn’t coincide with the fear in his eyes- but now, it’s like he’s not trying to hide his excitement anymore, like he’s absorbing every new thing he learns, building his own confidence at an extremely fast pace. His shoulders are more relaxed, his back less rigid, but there’s no fear in his eyes anymore, only burning curiosity.</p><p>Atsumu cannot help but smile, heart swelling in pride; </p><p>“When did you start helping that orphanage?” Kiyoomi ends up asking, once they’re settled in a small forest for the night. They shouldn’t be too far away from the castle now.</p><p>He’s sitting on the grass on one side of the fire, looking at the other man through the flames; he shrugs.</p><p>“When I left home because I didn’t want anything to do with our family business, I got lost and didn’t know what to do with my life; changed my name and everything. They helped me get back on my feet. I helped to fix stuff in the building, and they fed me, let me sleep in one of their beds. Then I went back to the city, discovered just exactly how rich some people were- it’s just not fair. I started robbing them and never stopped. I found other people in need on my journey. It’s not just the orphanage anymore.”</p><p>“But why didn’t you want to stay with your family?”</p><p>Atsumu sighs; even he doesn’t really know, “I just needed it, felt it in my bones- that my brother was better at everything surrounding the business than I was. So, I left. I still go there sometimes, we’re not in bad terms- we just have really different lives.”</p><p>Kiyoomi yawns before he finally lays down on the grass, putting his bag under his head. The nights aren’t that cold anymore, so he doesn’t have to cover himself with more than his jacket. </p><p>Tooru is sitting on his hip before the man rolls on his side, making the chameleon fall. He's now fully facing Atsumu who lays down on his back too, watching the stars above them- why is he suddenly so excited about the perspective of looking at the night sky getting filled with thousands of lanterns- why is he so impatient to see Kiyoomi’s face light up-</p><p><em>You know why,</em> Osamu's voice mocks him.</p><p>He finally turns his head to the right, eyes settling on Kiyoomi’s face. For once, he looks completely relaxed, his long lashes caressing the top of his cheeks as he breathes softly. The two moles on his forehead have never been more captivating; until he opens his eyes, black orbs immediately looking at Atsumu- and he just can’t bring himself to look away.</p><p>Kiyoomi smiles;</p><p>Atsumu’s heart explodes.</p><p>They close their eyes at the same time, pretending to be asleep. </p><p>- ✧ - </p><p>Atsumu wakes up late on the next morning; the sun is already high in the sky, but it’s not the light that makes him stir- it’s something wet that lands on his face. It makes him jolt up- but it’s too late because something is already dragging him away from the fire- <em> from Kiyoomi.  </em></p><p>“LET ME GO! AAAAH!” he screams, air punched out of his lungs, brain finally in working condition.</p><p>He starts to move, turning his head to look at what exactly is attacking him; <em> it’s the fucking horse. </em></p><p>Why isn’t it dead? It should have drowned back in the canyon!</p><p>
  <em>Ugh. </em>
</p><p>It’s too late to wonder how the motherfucker can still be alive; for now, Atsumu just needs to escape.</p><p>“Let him go!” Kiyoomi screams, running towards them to grab Atsumu’s ankle, pulling at it.</p><p>The horse angrily neighs, hitting the ground with its hoof, ready to hit the white-haired man, ready to jump-</p><p>“Woooow, easy, calm down!” Kiyoomi puts his two arms in front of him, in a calming gesture; and the horse finally lets go off Atsumu’s shirt, letting him fall face-first on the ground.</p><p>He doesn’t think twice before running as far away as possible from the horse, hiding behind Kiyoomi- <em> oh how things change. </em> But he can only watch with his mouth slightly open as Kiyoomi gently tames the evil horse. </p><p>Well, it’s Tooru, perched on top of Kiyoomi’s head, who actually tames the evil horse, and frankly, Atsumu can, for once, understand that bastard because <em>that toad is terrifying. </em></p><p>“Sit,” Kiyoomi orders.</p><p>The horse protests in horsey noises, still standing, eyes angry; he’s going to attack them, or run away and try to find other guards; they should be running too.</p><p>“Sit,” Kiyoomi repeats, and this time, the horse’s face shifts into a pouting expression, but he <em> sits. </em>On its horsey arse, his front legs sitting between the two others, like a dog-</p><p>“What-”</p><p>“Drop the boot.” Kiyoomi orders- the boot? Oh, right; the horse caught Atsumu’s boot before he ran away- he didn’t even notice. </p><p>“Drop it,” he repeats; and this time, the horse <em> obeys. </em> Of course, it’s Tooru, and its intimidating bulging eyes and his greeny tiny three-finger hands; <em> terrifying. </em></p><p>Okay, he just has to catch the boot and they can run-</p><p><em>“Good boy!”</em> Kiyoomi smiles, patting the horse’s head with his palm, “poor boy, no one appreciates you correctly, do they?”</p><p>
  <em>What- Is he befriending him now?</em>
</p><p>“HE’S A BAD HORSE!” Atsumu screams, incredulous. They just need to <em> run! </em></p><p>“No. He’s a sweetheart!” Kiyoomi looks at him with a disapproving stare before turning back to the horse, “isn’t it right… <em> Kageyama?” </em></p><p>The satanic horse has a name now.</p><p>“You got to be kidding me,” Atsumu sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose.</p><p>“Listen, Kageyama, today’s the biggest day of my life and I would like to ask you not to arrest him. Just for 24 hours. Then you two can go on and chase each other again until whatever happens... Okay?” Kiyoomi bats his lashes, <em> and the horse is buying it. </em></p><p>Okay. </p><p>Atsumu sighs and finally looks at Kageyama in the eyes, stretch out his hand in a silence offer of peace; he can't believe he's doing this-</p><p>“Oh and- it’s my birthday,” Kiyoomi casually whispers into the horse’s ear, “just so you know.”</p><p>The horse accepts Atsumu’s handshake, Kiyoomi smiling with contentment at their <em> reconciliation. </em></p><p>But his eyes quickly move away from them to look behind the trees; a few meters away from where they stand, he can now see a paved road, and in the background, only a few kilometres away, the royal island with the castle standing on top of a hill.</p><p>- ✧ - </p><p>The bridge is a long construction made of red and white stones; and yet they still found a way to pin his portrait on the street lights. But the WANTED notices look old, like no one has been taking care of changing them after the rain ruined the paper, making his nose look even less realistic- if they’re looking for him that much, then <em> why?  </em></p><p>Still, he takes the two portrait he sees and throws them in the river, Kageyama just a bit too slow to prevent him from doing it; their bodies crash against each other, and he’s ready to take the pan from Kiyoomi’s hand just to finally get rid of the fucking horse when he hears a click of a tongue- it's Tooru, who's standing on Kiyoomi’s head, staring at them with a serious look, gesturing at them to <em>behave.</em> Gods he’s terrifying. </p><p>Kiyoomi, on the other hand, doesn’t seem to even hear them bicker, too absorbed in his surroundings. The lantern festivals has started now, and the streets are full of people in traditional attire, colourful and luxurious fabrics wrapped around their bodies; many of them have flowers in their hair and gold around their necks. </p><p>They cross the first gate with no obstacle in their way; Kageyama is still walking behind him- but somehow, he doesn’t find himself caring, too focused on Kiyoomi’s face, on the smile that spreads on his lips once he finds himself in the middle of the packed streets, discovering exactly what being in the city <em> feels </em> like. The streets are more colourful than any other time of the year, red, yellow, and pink flowers blooming on the windowsills, and little blue flags hanging between the roofs. They chose the moon as a symbol for the realm after the prince went missing, printing the familiar pattern everywhere in the streets, silver and nuances of blue everywhere around them, drawn with chalk on the floor, painted on the walls, on the flags swaying in the wind. </p><p>Atsumu follows Kiyoomi through the streets, not really knowing where he’s leading them, but that’s fine- for once, they don’t have a destination; it's about the journey. </p><p>“Want to eat something?” Atsumu finally suggests.</p><p>They stop in the middle of a street when they reach the bakery; he buys two lemon tarts that they share, sitting on the floor under the bakery window, the smell of freshly baked bread filling their nose, the chatter inside the shop still audible from where they are. They stay here for almost an hour, looking at the people walking down the street, commenting on their clothes, on how they behave. Everyone seems happy today, excited and there's a contagious glow in people's smiles that even reaches Atsumu's spirit.</p><p>It’s Atsumu who stands up first, offering his hand to Kiyoomi. He smiles softly as he rises. </p><p>Wandering around the streets, watching people eat ice-cream and laughing, children chasing each other and playing hopscotch; they finally stop in a small square with a white fountain standing the middle of it, the sound of water hitting the ground catching their attention. He immediately notices the look on the faces of three little girls as soon as they see Kiyoomi’s hair, mouth slightly open and eyes shining.</p><p>“Can we braid your hair, mister?” one of the girls finally comes near them to tug at Kiyoomi’s sleeve.</p><p>“Yes, sure,” Kiyoomi smiles, sitting on the white stone of the fountain as the three girls start braiding the meters of hair. </p><p>Taking this opportunity to leave for a second, Atsumu smoothly escapes to find a small stall that’s selling flowers in a nearby street. He selects big blue peonies and smiles at the woman who hands him the bouquet. </p><p>Heading towards the square, he stays hidden behind a pillar for a few minutes to observe Kiyoomi thanking the three little girls with a bright smile. His hair is now tied in an intricate design that Atsumu can’t even try to name; his face is unobstructed, revealing the way he carries his head with pride, his high cheekbones and the sharpness of his jaw- he's not hiding anymore.</p><p>He realizes he’s been staring when his eyes move up and meet Kageyama's and Tooru’s who are grinning at him.</p><p>
  <em>Fuck.  </em>
</p><p>Finally, joining them, he comes to sit on the fountain next to Kiyoomi, drawing an invisible circle in the air with his finger to ask him to turn around. He slides the blue peonies in the silver hair, smiling at the contrast between the two colours. When Kiyoomi turns around to look at him from under his lashes, he swears his heart stops beating for a whole second. The smile on his lips is almost invisible; and yet, he sees it as clear as day.</p><p>Far away, on the other side of the square, a violinist starts playing; Kiyoomi stands up and extends his arm, offering his hand to Atsumu with a silent question. </p><p>A small crowd is already gathered in the middle of the square and around the fountain; it only takes a few minutes for them to catch the rhythm, to find a place for them to stand.</p><p>It’s Kiyoomi who leads them, Atsumu too busy staring at their intertwined fingers, the feeling of his soft skin against his- his head is already spinning, and he’s not even twirling yet. </p><p>Instinctively, he puts one of his hands on the other man’s waist, smiling smugly at the small gasp that escapes Kiyoomi’s lips. He lets himself be guided by Atsumu, surrednering his control, when he makes him twirl around himself, looking like a blur of silver and deep blue; he laughs, free and light when he almost trips over his own feet, steadying himself on Atsumu’s chest.</p><p>He rolls his eyes when he meets the amused grin that the blond man throws his way. </p><p>They keep dancing like this for hours, and Atsumu sincerely can’t recall the last time when he had so much fun simply enjoying music in the middle of a crowd he’s not even trying to rob. Soon enough, Kiyoomi’s not the only one who’s laughing anymore, because Atsumu joins him, a smile spreading inevitably on his face.</p><p>They end up leaving this square to run to higher streets, stopping in the main road to help children draw blue moons and yellow stars on the pavement with the chalks they hand them; they miss the parade- but maybe it’s a good thing because he definitely doesn’t want guards to notice him and ruin the day for Kiyoomi. They buy more food, sharing two ripe peaches with vanilla ice cream on their way down to the docks as they watch the sun fall down behind the houses. The sun is almost completely down when they reach the main docks, where an orchestra is currently playing the kingdom’s hymn in a slow rhythm.</p><p>Atsumu smiles softly and wraps his arms around Kiyoomi’s waist- <em> and he’s already looking at him, hopeful eyes meeting his, </em>god. This time, he doesn’t make him twirl around himself, doesn’t even make him move on the pavement, simply keeps him there, bodies balancing slowly to the rhythm, never leaving more than a few millimetres between their chests.</p><p>If Kiyoomi’s going to go back to his tower- then the least Atsumu can do is to allow him to enjoy his only free day as much as he can.</p><p>It doesn’t take much time for their faces to come closer, for their foreheads to finally rest against each other- and their breaths merge in the small gap between his lips; they’re not kissing, now is not the time- and maybe it will never be the right time, but for now, just a small bubble of intimacy seems like enough. </p><p>“To the boats!” someone in the crowd yells; they both take a step back, their gaze never leaving each other.</p><p>Atsumu gently takes Kiyoomi’s fingers in his and leads him towards one of the boats waiting for them, showing a ticket to the owner who nods. They jump on the boat and Atsumu leads them further away from the shore. And suddenly, t’s just the two of them, and what feels like the infinity of the night sky above their heads.</p><p>- ✧ - </p><p>It’s surprisingly calm. Most people go on the bigger boats that stay in front of the castle where the lanterns are released; but Atsumu decided they wouldn’t stay this close, leading them closer to the opposite side of the lake. </p><p>The sky is dark; it’s a moonless night and the only lights in the black curtain above them come from the stars, Milky Way clearly visible in such a dark canvas.</p><p>His eyes finally come back down to earth, frowning when he sees Kiyoomi staring at the surrounding waters, lips pressed in a thin line.</p><p>“Are you alright?” he whispers softly, reaching for his wrist, leaving his fingers there in a reassuring gesture.</p><p>“I’m-” Kiyoomi starts, still looking at the deep water, “I’m terrified.”</p><p>His voice sounds so fragile, so different from what Atsumu has grown accustomed to during the last few hours. It’s probably the most sincere he’s seen him, eyes shining, his knuckles white from how tight he’s gripping the wooden edge of the boat. </p><p>“I’ve been looking out a window for twenty years, dreaming about what it might feel like to watch them rise in the sky- but what if it’s not like I dreamed it would be?”</p><p>“It will be,” Atsumu tries to reassure him. </p><p>After all, no matter how far away he was from the ceremony when he was a kid, he can still remember watching the lanterns floating in the sky- and it's as impressive as they say it is.</p><p>“And what if it is? What do I do then?” his voice breaks on the last word, but he finally looks at Atsumu, clearly looking for some kind of answer; an answer Atsumu just can’t offer him. <em> Don’t go back to the tower, then, </em>is the only thought that comes to his mind, the only thought he tried to push away from his brain for the entire day; he won't be the one to tell him that.</p><p>So, he simply smiles, soft and gentle; trying to think about what Kita and Osamu, the only people he goes to when he’s lost, would say in his shoes.</p><p>“That’s the good part I guess then- you get to find a new dream.”</p><p>Kiyoomi mirrors his own smile and nods; he’s almost going to say something, but the first lantern is already flying in the sky, alone and lonely, carrying a weak silver light. And for a second, Atsumu feels incredibly sad- for whatever happened to that missing prince, for his parents and the obstinacy with which they’re still celebrating his birthday. </p><p>He wonders if seeing this single lantern has the same effect on everyone, if it somehow reminds every single one of them of how human even the royal family can be, about how unfair the world can be. </p><p>But it doesn’t stay alone for too long because soon enough, a dozen of other blue and silver lanterns appear behind it, launched from the top of the castle.</p><p>Kiyoomi’s eyes are already shining, looking at the small moving dots, mouth slightly open; he’s not smiling yet, probably too shocked.</p><p>Slowly, people in the streets launch their own lanterns too, joined by the people on the boats around the island, filling the dark sky with tiny little blue and white lights that fly lazily around the castle. It almost feels like it’s the middle of the day, the sky so clear it doesn’t look like it was black only a few minutes ago.</p><p>Atsumu clears his throat, catching Kiyoomi’s attention. He’s smiling now, bottom lips a bit wobbly, only steadying when he meets Atsumu’s gaze.</p><p>He retrieves a small paper lantern from his bag and lights up a matchstick he bought earlier that day. Kiyoomi’s smile grows on his facen eyes widening; he comes to sit next to him, looking at the lantern with awe.</p><p>“Happy birthday,” Atsumu whispers.</p><p>Sincerely, Atsumu can’t even imagine what it’s like to live in a tower for your entire life; can’t imagine what might be going through your brain as you watch this happening- </p><p>It’s the first time he sees someone fulfil their dream- and it means something. </p><p>Watching Kiyoomi fulfil his dream, it means even more. </p><p>And he doesn’t want to dwell on what exactly his heart is feeling, but looking at the lantern reflected in Kiyoomi’s dark eyes- it’s just too clear to ignore. </p><p>The sky is now full of lanterns, illuminating his face in a soft blue light. Their fingers brush against each other when they stretch their arms towards the sky, bringing the lantern higher. They let go of it at the same time, eyes glued on the small light; and suddenly, it feels like it’s way more than just a piece of paper.</p><p>“I have something for you too. I should have given it to you sooner, but I was scared,” Kiyoomi softly whispers. His eyes leave the lantern that is now flying away, to take his bag from behind him. He smiles sadly and hands him the royal crown, “but I’m not scared anymore. I know it’s weird but- <em> do you know what I mean? </em>”</p><p>“Yeah,” Atsumu whispers, closing his hands over Kiyoomi’s, hiding the crown from his sight, “I know what you mean.”</p><p>The crown, the orphanage, the hectic lifestyle he chose, it’s not what matters at all right now.</p><p>And after all these years spent trying to find a dream, wandering like a lost fool around the realm, it feels like the fog finally disappears; and he doesn’t even spare a glance at the crown, only looking into the mesmerizing darkness of Kiyoomi’s eyes. He can’t stop the smile slowly forming on his lips as he watches the sea of lights above them, their own lantern already too far for them to see.</p><p>The world inside him shifts, stars aligning in his mind, and everything finally connects; everything is different, but not in a bad way, not in an important way, even, it’s just different enough for him to notice, but it’s so natural, so <em> right, </em>he can’t even tell what exactly changes. </p><p>With that, Atsumu starts to <em> want, </em> for the first time, he <em> wants, </em> wants to believe in this- he gasps when his eyes meet Kiyoomi’s again, and there’s something in his gaze, something more serious, more steady, like he finally knows what he wants too.</p><p>He’s already leaning in, gently cupping the other man's face; when a gloomy green light in the background catches his attention.</p><p>
  <em> Fuck. </em>
</p><p>The silhouettes are familiar enough for him to recognize them immediately.</p><p>“Are you alright?” Kiyoomi whispers, opening his eyes again once he understands Atsumu is not going to kiss him; his expression worried.</p><p>“Yeah- I just-” he starts, biting his lower lip, “-I have to do something, but I’ll be right back.”</p><p>He smiles apologetically, bringing them to the shore, but even Oikawa’s surprised stare doesn’t make him change his mind. He just has to get rid of them. If he doesn’t, who knows what might happen to him,<em> or Kiyoomi? </em></p><p>For the first time, he finds himself wanting to <em> live, </em> for the first time, he doesn’t think <em>'</em><em>whatever, they can try to catch me, I don’t care if they do anyway-'</em>, instead he really, really <em> doesn’t </em>want them to catch him; he wants them to leave him and Kiyoomi alone. And the best way to make sure they do, is to give them what they’re looking for.</p><p>“Stay here,” he asks Kiyoomi, taking the big containing the crown with him, “it won’t take long.”</p><p>“Okay,” Kiyoomi says with a small, very small voice, and he sounds so scared, a tone almost devoid of hope. </p><p>Atsumu smiles reassuringly and leaves the boat; it shouldn’t take long, and after that, he’ll be free to do whatever he wants, as long as he doesn’t get too close to the guards.</p><p>He’s doing the right thing.</p><p>
  <em> Right? </em>
</p><p>- ✧ - </p><p>“Hey guys,” he greets the two brothers who look at him with their signature frown, “I thought about what I did, and it really wasn’t cool, so if I give you the crown, will you leave me alone? Keep my part of the money for damages.”</p><p>He throws the bag at the two thugs who stare at him before grinning devilishly. </p><p>There’s something wrong, he doesn’t know what, but this isn’t the reaction he was expecting. His heart is beating hard and fast in his chest, ready to burst through his lips- he takes a step back, but the brothers are too fast- they take him almost by surprise.</p><p>“We don’t care about the crown anymore. We know there’s something way more valuable in the area- <em> a man with silver hair.” </em></p><p>
  <em> What? Who told them- how could they-  </em>
</p><p>He doesn't have time to run, and when something hits the back of his head, everything turns black.</p><p>- ✧ - </p><p>When Atsumu finally comes back to himself, mind still fuzzy after being hit <em> so damn hard, </em> the first thing he notices is that his hands are tied, and so is his body. He can’t move, even his head is maintained. <em> What the-  </em></p><p>He can feel the weight of crown, heavy in his hands, can hear the water moving around him. He opens his eyes: he’s on a boat, and it’s moving towards the royal island, straight into the gates where the guards are currently patrolling.</p><p>
  <em> Fuck.  </em>
</p><p>“Look!” a voice screams from above him, the guard running towards him while calling his friends to come arrest him.</p><p>
  <em> Fuck. He’s so fucked. </em>
</p><p>He groans, but there’s no way for him to stop the boat, no way for him to stop what’s happening. And yet, he doesn’t really care, because the only thing lingering in his mind, above the panic, above the fear- is that Kiyoomi must think that he fled with the crown, that he just abandoned him. <em> Fuck. </em></p><p>The boat slowly reaches the shore, and there’s nothing he can do but take whatever comes at him. They don’t even give him a second to explain himself, because one of the guards simply hits him in the head, until he’s unconscious. </p><p>- ✧ - </p><p>The next time he opens his eyes, he’s laying on a soft red carpet. Looking around him, he quickly concludes that he must be inside the royal castle, probably in the throne room (because there are  two thrones).</p><p>He’s alone in there, and it's still only the early morning. Testing his restraints, he groans when he understands there's no way for him to free himself. Sighing, he sits up, trying to find a solution- <em>any solution, </em>because if Kiyoomi's in danger, he needs to get to him- <em>fuck.</em></p><p>But the large doors open and two guards enter, followed by a man with large shoulders and long black hair. He’s wearing a heavy golden crown, and he can see in his eyes that if he could spit at his face right now, he would do it happily.</p><p>“So, you are Miya Atsumu,” the King says.</p><p>“Yes.”</p><p>“And you stole the Missing Prince’s crown.”</p><p>
  <em> Oh. </em>
</p><p>Yeah, that explains a lot. </p><p>It’s not that he doesn’t care about the Kingdom’s history, but when he chose to rob one of the royal family’s crowns, he didn’t choose to steal the one linked to very heavy emotional baggage.</p><p>He just took the first one he could find; the easiest one to steal (ie the one that wasn't on someone's head)</p><p>“I- I guess I did.”</p><p>The King looks at him with all the disdain available (there's a lot of it available, apparently)</p><p>“I sentence you to death. Dispose of him as you please,” he tells the guards, not even looking at him for another second. </p><p>The guards walk towards him, sliding their arms under his armpits to drag him away from the throne room. They don’t even try to lift him up when they walk down the stairs, letting his body hit each step as if they wanted to hurt him. </p><p>And maybe they did.</p><p>He’s almost unconscious after being hit in the head<em> just one</em> <em> too many times </em> during the last few days, body aching all over when his eyes register two familiar silhouettes- <em> the brothers. </em></p><p>Not expecting Atsumu to start moving, the guards can’t hold him back when he launches his body at the bars separating the thugs who put him in this position, and him.</p><p>“HOW DID YOU KNOW ABOUT HIM?” is the only thing he can ask- </p><p>He doesn’t even want to run away from the prison and his own death sentence- what’s the point if he doesn’t even know where to go? </p><p>“WHAT DID YOU DO TO HIM? WHERE IS HE?” </p><p>He shakes the iron bars but the brothers just shrug.</p><p>“It was the old lady, she told us about him but she tricked us-”</p><p>He doesn’t hear the rest of his explanation because the guards are dragging him away, leading him to his own cell. </p><p>The old lady-</p><p>Probably Kiyoomi’s mother, <em> fuck, fuck, fuck. </em></p><p>- ✧ - </p><p>The cell is far from being the worst one he’s ever been held captive in. He has a bed and a small bathroom; it’s better than some rooms at the orphanage, even. There are no windows in here, so he can’t even tell how many days have passed when the door finally opens. </p><p>
  <em> He’s going to die; they're coming to get him- </em>
</p><p>But he doesn’t care, only needs to tell someone about Kiyoomi- <em> go save him, </em> he’s about to scream, <em> I don’t care what happens to me, you can’t let her lock him up again- he deserves freedom, deserves to live normally- </em> He can still remember vividly the frightened look on his face when they first met, doesn’t have to even have to focus to remember how fast he changed, getting more and more confident with each passing hour- <em> curse him if he’s not going to do whatever he can to at least save Kiyoomi from eternal incarceration. </em>Atsumu doesn’t have anyone to go back to- no one will care if he dies, disappears. But Kiyoomi is different; he’ll be able to find happiness with whoever is deserving of him- deserves to live, to start to live-</p><p>And right now he’s the only one who can save him.</p><p>But no one will listen to him- <em> fuck.  </em></p><p>He raises his head to look at who just entered his cell and can’t hold back a gasp when he recognizes the man standing in front of him.</p><p>“You’re a fucking idiot,” his twin brother says with a frown. </p><p>“I know,” Atsumu sighs, rolling his eyes. It’s been months since they last saw each other, and he’s already <em> judging </em> him. Asshole.</p><p>“What were you thinking? Stealing the Kingdom’s most prized possession?!”</p><p>“I obviously wasn’t.”</p><p>“You’re such a- Fucking hell.” </p><p>Osamu pinches the bridge of his nose and groans.</p><p>“What are you doing here, anyway?” Atsumu finally asks. He hasn't been keeping tracks on his brother, but last time he checked, he was still travelling for the vineyard; doing nothing that would end with him being in the royal castle.</p><p>“They arrested me because they thought I was you.”</p><p>Atsumu laughs humourlessly.</p><p>“Classic.”</p><p>Idiotic guards not even able to tell the difference between twins.</p><p>“Yeah, thanks for that. Then they released me but wanted to use me as a bait for you to come and rescue me. Which you didn’t do,” he remarks, an unhidden accusation.</p><p>“I know you can escape on your own if you really want to.”</p><p>It’s true; Atsumu didn’t become one of the best thieves of the realm just out of sheer luck. They both learnt how to sneak in and out of their bedroom at night, thanks to their older sister. There’s no way Osamu would have stayed in the castle if he didn’t have a good reason to.</p><p>Osamu doesn’t object. <em>Interesting.</em></p><p>“So what’s keeping you here?”</p><p>“It doesn’t matter.”</p><p>“Oh, really?”</p><p>“You’re going to fucking die, ‘Tsumu,” he yells, looking at him with distress in his eyes. </p><p>“I know, thank you, I was there during my very <em>fast</em> trial.”</p><p>“And you don’t mind?”</p><p>“Actually I have other things on my mind-” he starts, maybe Osamu can help him? If he’s here, they can let his brother leave, let him rescue Kiyoomi- it’s better than nothing.</p><p>“Like what?”</p><p>“Okay- Listen to me.”</p><p>“What?”</p><p>“I met a guy.”</p><p>“Fucking hell,” Osamu groans.</p><p>“He’s- He has magical hair- Don’t try to interrupt. Just believe me here, ‘Samu, please. He has magical hair, so people are looking for him. So, I met him when I was running away from the guards- and that fucking horse.”</p><p><em> “Kageyama,” </em>Osamu has the audacity to correct him.</p><p>“How do you know him?”</p><p>“It doesn’t matter.”</p><p>“Okay, so, I met Omi in his tower where his mother is keeping him captive for his magical hair that heals everything once he sings that song. And he asked me to bring him to see the lanterns, so I said yes because he kept the crown with him as blackmail.”</p><p>“Typical.”</p><p>“And I- I fell in love,” he whispers, avoiding Osamu’s eyes. It’s the first time he says it out loud, although the thought has been here for a long time- he was just too busy to confront it. But right now, he needs Osamu to <em>understand</em> how important this is. He'll do the thinking later, once he's rotting in hell.</p><p>
  <em> “What the hell.” </em>
</p><p>“It doesn’t matter now. But when I got captured, he got attacked, and I’m pretty sure it’s because of his mother. She wants him back in that tower, and she’s going to imprison him there so please, ‘Samu, you have to find him. I obviously won’t be able to-”</p><p>“The only reason why I believe all this nonsense is because you’re going to die, and you just don’t care.”</p><p>“Good. Now go save him,” he pleads.</p><p>“‘Tsumu.”</p><p>“Osamu,” one of the guards’ voice comes from behind the door, “the Prince is coming, and I don’t think you should be here when he arrives.”</p><p>“‘Samu, don’t worry for me, okay? I deserve it.”</p><p>“No one deserves this.”</p><p>“Osamu,” the guard call him again.</p><p>A flicker of panic shoots through his chest when he realizes Osamu is going to leave- Osamu is going to leave, and he’s going to die-</p><p>“I love you, ‘Samu, okay? I do,” he hurriedly shouts, locking his gaze with his brother’s who smiles sadly.</p><p>“I love you too, I’m- I’m sorry for not spending more time with you.”</p><p>Osamu only has the time to press one gentle kiss on his forehead before the guard calls for him again. He tries to smile at him, but doesn’t really manage to make it convincing. </p><p>“Save him, 'Samu, <em>please,”</em> he whispers; but no one hears him. </p><p>- ✧ - </p><p>After a few minutes, the door bursts wide open this time, revealing someone he doesn’t know. It’s a man with black hair and an indifferent expression, lips pinched in an annoyed line. He stares at him for a second, probably evaluating him, before he comes closer to him. There's a silver circle resting on top of his head- <em>royalty, </em>then.</p><p>“You really look like your brother,” is the first thing he says. His voice is calme, and soft.</p><p>“We’re twins,” Atsumu shrugs; frankly, he doesn't have the time or the patience for small talk.</p><p>“I’m Akaashi Keiji, Crown Prince.”</p><p>Atsumu groans internally; as if he wanted to deal with yet another royal asshole.</p><p>But Akaashi simply comes to sit on the bed next to him, looking at the wall before turning his attention back to Atsumu. </p><p>“I’m a friend of your brother.”</p><p>Royalty or not, Atsumu can’t help but raise a curious eyebrow at the way he says <em> friend. </em></p><p>Yes. Right. <em> Friend. </em></p><p>Just like he’s <em> friend </em> with Kiyoomi, apparently, because Akaashi's eyes are soft and sad- <em>ugh. </em>Does he look like that when he's thinking about Kiyoomi?</p><p>“And I promised him I would try to help you with my uncle’s- <em> decision.” </em></p><p>“It’s really nice of you,” he says just because he can’t just say <em> fuck off, </em>“but I don’t think your uncle is really willing to listen to anyone regarding the <em>situation</em>.”</p><p>“I can still try to talk to him, but I have to know if you’re willing to accept exile.”</p><p>Atsumu sighs; he didn’t expect to actually get a <em> choice. </em></p><p>Exile isn’t the best solution, but the Corona Kingdom is far from being the only kingdom on this earth; he can see himself being happy in any kingdom, really- but the orphanage.</p><p>Still, not dying is his best chance to get to find Kiyoomi, save him, run away.</p><p>Even with no exile, they would have had to flee the, to avoid his witch of a mother.</p><p>“Okay,” he whispers with a nod; and he can see the relief on Akaashi’s face. </p><p>- ✧ - </p><p>“The King is willing to hear you again,” the guard announces when he opens the door of the cell, around half an hour later.</p><p>There are five of them walking around him to lead him towards the throne room. They tie a tight knot around his wrists and push him through the cold and humid corridors, apparently not caring about the fact that he hasn’t slept or eaten since he arrived.  </p><p>They’re one floor above the prison when he sees a small ceramic unicorn on the floor; no one notices it, but his heart skips a beat- <em> Ushijima.  </em></p><p>Everything goes down very quickly after that. There's smoke on the floor, and screams around him. The thugs from the tavern storm into the prison, creating enough chaos to distract the guards. One of them frees his hands with a wink before hitting a guard with a pan.</p><p>“It’s a really good weapon,” he comments, “tell that to your friend!”</p><p>Atsumu gives him a thumb up and starts running, trying not to follow his instincts that are screaming at him to go help them.</p><p>
  <em> Kiyoomi needs your help more right now, Atsumu, just run. </em>
</p><p>Some of the guards are still following him, calling his name. He’s too weak to be able to fight more than one of them at the same time- even running is starting to feel harder and harder.</p><p>He turns around at the end of the corridor- and runs straight into Osamu, their nose almost breaking when they crash against each other.</p><p>“Of course you wouldn’t let a King decide your fate,” his brother remarks with a  roll of his eyes, but his smile is honest, relieved.</p><p>“I actually really thought I was going to die!” he tries to justify himself.</p><p>“You told me you loved me,” Osamu observes.</p><p>“See? <em> Sincere.” </em></p><p>“CATCH HIM!” the guard’s voice comes from the corridor behind him, catching their attention.</p><p>“Run, go find him, save him and never come back to the kingdom. I’ll find you. Wherever you are, you idiot.”</p><p>“You better,” Atsumu grins.</p><p>“You owe me a lot, asshole.”</p><p>Atsumu laughs and follows Ushijima, obeying when he tells him to jump from the rooftop. He can’t hold back a scream- </p><p>
  <em> “What the hell, it’s high, you asshole!” </em>
</p><p>Closing his eyes, he gasps when he lands on Kageyama's back who’s clearly judging his high pinched scream. But he doesn't try to throw him off the saddle, simply stares.</p><p>“Kags? You lead them here?”</p><p>The horse nods in a horsey way. Unbelievable.</p><p>“Thank you,” Atsumu nods slowly, eyes closed, his hand over his heart in a solemn pose, “no, really- thank you,” he opens his eyes, looking inside Kageyama’s, chaneling his kicked-puppy energy, “I think maybe this whole time we were misunderstanding one another, but we are actually really similar-” </p><p>Kageyama is staring at him with completely bored horsey eyes now-</p><p>“Yeah, you’re right, we should go.”</p><p>For the first time, he experiences how fast a horse from the royal guard can actually run; and it’s impressive. The trees are only a blur, dots of green and brown. He leads them to the tower, suddenly glad he spent a few hours in his cell thinking about how he could explain to someone how to find the hidden place. </p><p>As soon as they cross the entrance to the hidden glade, still concealed behind the thick vine curtain, he jumps from the horse’s back, landing smoothly on the grass; he immediately starts climbing the white walls- but he only has to climb the first meters before silver hair fall from the window. </p><p><em> He’s alright, </em>he realizes with relief as he grips the hair, allowing Kiyoomi to pull him up, sparing him the effort of having to climb the endless meters of white bricks.</p><p>He still lifts himself up as soon as he can reach the windowsill, jumping inside.</p><p>The room is quite different from the last time he entered, darker, messier. The furniture is on the floor, and he only has the time to notice Kiyoomi <em> tied to a chair- what the fuck- </em></p><p>But something sharp is already entering his stomach and <em> fuck it, that hurts- </em> he presses his right hand against the place where blood is now already soaking his white shirt, just before he falls on his knees. Everything becomes blurry very quickly- and he’s sure that he can hear Kiyoomi screaming, and his mother talking and laughing; but his head is ringing terribly- until he finally manages to focus on Kiyoomi. He’s fighting against the chains his mother put around his wrists, a few meters from him-</p><p>“Stop it! Kiyoomi, enough already, stop fighting me!” the old woman orders.</p><p>“No, I won’t stop fighting, not even for a minute for the rest of my life! I will never stop trying to get away from<em> you!</em> But if you let me save<em> him- </em>I will run away with you,” Kiyoomi bargains.</p><p>Wait what?</p><p>No, <em> no, no- nonono. </em></p><p>“No” Atsumu manages to choke out, but his voice is weak, and he can barely breathe, and he doesn't know if anyone heard him.</p><p>The fire in his guts almost unbearable, and he can’t even fucking <em> move- </em></p><p>“I’ll never run,” Kiyoomi continues, “if you let me heal him, you and I will be together forever- just like you wanted. I promise.”</p><p>His doesn’t hear his mother’s answer, but the next him he registers is Kiyoomi falling on his knees next to him, his cold finger pressing against his injury; and they’re already covered in crimson- they’re too pure, too white to be covered in red- he thinks, panicking-</p><p>“Atsumu!” </p><p>It’s his voice that allows him not to fall completely unconscious yet. He barely feels him wrapping his stomach with his hair, soaking silver with dark red blood; <em> fuck. </em></p><p>“I’m so sorry, Atsumu, it’s going to be okay, I promise. You just have to breathe,” he whispers hurriedly, eyes staring at his stomach.</p><p>“I can’t let you do this. Don’t, please, Omi-” he whispers weakly, coughing weakly.</p><p>“But I can’t let you die,” Kiyoomi cries softly, eyes pleading, his hands still pressing against the hole in his stomach.</p><p>“But if you do this, then <em> you </em> will die.”</p><p>Atsumu's voice is nothing more than a whisper now, weak and barely audible.</p><p>“It doesn’t matter, it’s going to be alright,” Kiyoomi smiles sadly, cupping his cheek with his free hand, and he doesn’t even feel his fingers against his skin, all his senses already leaving him.</p><p>Their gazes meet, both pleading- <em> don’t sacrifice yourself for me; I’m not worth it, </em> he wants to say; but he’s too weak, he just can’t <em> speak </em> anymore, doesn’t have enough air in his lungs anymore.</p><p>Quickly looking around him, he still manages to gather the remains of his strength-</p><p>“Omi, wait.”</p><p>This catches his attention, making him unable to react when Atsumu manages to take a fragment of broken glass on the floor, using the last traces of force he still has in his body, to raise his hand, cutting through the entirety of Kiyoomi’s silver mane.</p><p>His eyes barely see Kiyoomi’s white hair turning black, shrinking as they start to curl in soft waves around his shocked face- he barely hears his mother’s screams because everything is cold- and blurry- <em> will Osamu feel this? </em> </p><p>He knows he did; he felt it, when Osamu almost died- so many years ago.</p><p>If he has one regret, it’s definitely this- abandoning Osamu.</p><p>Twins aren’t made to walk the world alone.</p><p>The last thing he hears is Kiyoomi singing hurriedly, but it’s too late already- he knew it would be.</p><p>“Hey Omi,” he whispers weakly, and Kiyoomi only hears him because his face already so close to him, forehead against his, holding Atsumu’s bloodied hand against his cheek, kissing the tip of his fingers, “you know- you were my new dream.”</p><p>“And you were mine,” Kiyoomi admits, softly sobbing, desperately holding on to his hand; but everything colder, and his entire body feels stiffer, and he just can’t keep his eyes open anymore- <em> oh, well, </em> hopefully, Kiyoomi will find himself a new dream, someone better- </p><p>But that won’t be him; </p><p>Slowly, and then, all at once, his brain is finally swallowed by darkness</p><p>- ✧ - </p><p>It’s a weird thing, to see yourself from above, like you’re floating over your own body.</p><p>He can still see Kiyoomi holding his unconscious- <em>dead</em> body, sniffing and crying; their two silhouettes surrounded by the corpse of Kiyoomi’s white hair. He’s too far away to hear what Kiyoomi is saying; but his guess is that he must be reciting the incantation he used to sing to heal- and it shouldn't work.</p><p>But suddenly, there’s a flash of white light surrounding them, soft and welcoming.</p><p>Atsumu doesn't read a lot- but he knows you're supposed to see a white light when you're dying, to go on the other side- but this one, it feels like it's calling him back to earth; like he’s getting sucked back inside his body.</p><p><em> Good job, Omi, </em>he thinks when he realizes what's happening</p><p>- ✧ - </p><p>He opens his eyes slowly, jackhammers back in full force in his brain.</p><p>“Did I ever tell you I have a thing for people with curly hair?” is the first thing that comes to his mind when he opens his eyes, smiling softly at a sobbing Kiyoomi.</p><p>His hair is now short, falling in soft curls around his face. But the most striking thing, is that the silver colour is completely gone, replaced by a deep black similar to his eyes. His bottom lip is shaking uncontrollably, and he quickly hides his face in Atsumu’s neck, sniffing pitifully as he wraps his arms around his shoulders.</p><p>“I thought I lost you.”</p><p>Atsumu smiles softly- frankly, he thought the same.</p><p><em>But it’s fine now, </em>he rubs Kiyoomi’s back gently, keeping him pressed against his chest before he dares to kiss the crown of his head, soft and timid.</p><p>It makes Kiyoomi raise his face to look at him with a small smile; Atsumu only has to cup his face, watching the other man tilt his head to rest against his palm, rubbing his cheek gently-</p><p>“Can I kiss you?” he whispers in one small breath.</p><p>With a small nod, Kiyoomi closes his eyes; and this time, Atsumu doesn’t run away, he just leans in, and their lips meet in a kiss so tender it feels like it’s his first kiss too.</p><p>- ✧ - </p><p>“So why am I still alive?” he asks casually once they’re back down, both riding on Kageyama’s back.</p><p>“Apparently, my tears have the same powers as my hair used to,” Kiyoomi explains.</p><p>“I also found out I’m the missing Prince?” It's weridly casual, the way he says it, like it's no big deal. “I never- I never connected the dots before, but as soon as I tried to talk to my mother- to this woman about it- she went mad at me; told me I would never leave this tower. But it would make sense, right? We share the same birthday-”</p><p>Atsumu shrugs, “I have to go see my brother anyway; I have to go back to the castle, if you want to come with me.”</p><p>- ✧ - </p><p>The fact that they're riding Kageyama saves him from getting arrested by the guards again. They even manage to cross the gates without much trouble; the guards take one look at Kiyoomi before allowing them to enter- <em> it’s the moles, </em>the guard -Kuroo- will tell him later.</p><p>As soon as they enter the castle, the guards lead them to the royal balcony for him to meet the King and the Queen who apparently stopped everything they were doing to meet their alleged son.</p><p>He doesn’t know if it’s magic, or if there’s a special link between parents and their child- something that has nothing to do with blood, but with the perseverance they showed, to find their son one day again- but as soon as they see Kiyoomi, Atsumu knows it's true. As soon as the Queen smiles, knowingly, he understands that the missing prince has found his way back home; thanks to the lanterns, like they wanted him to.</p><p>Atsumu naturally takes a step back, leaving them alone for a little while. </p><p>“What happened to you?” Osamu shows up behind him, making him jump in surprise.</p><p>“How so?”</p><p>“You died, didn’t you?” </p><p>“Ah. That.”</p><p>He starts explaining everything, about Kiyoomi’s hair, his mother- and if Osamu doesn’t believe him, he doesn’t show it.</p><p>“It’s a long story. But I survived,” he finally says with a shrug, like it’s nothing. But Osamu stares at him with a serious look, obviously not buying it.</p><p>“I felt it.”</p><p>“Oh. Like when you got hit by that horse?” When they were younger, Osamu got hit by a horse, almost died, and in solidarity, Atsumu ended up unconscious as well (he didn’t choose to, it just happeneds that way, when you're twins, apparently).</p><p>“I guess.”</p><p>“Not pleasant, uh?”</p><p>He still remembers the terrible migraine that followed; he’d appreciate it if they both managed to stay alive and healthy in the future.</p><p>“Not really,” Osamu grimaces, “I was unconscious for a few days. But it’s what saved me from getting hanged myself for helping you, I guess.”</p><p>“Mhhh.”</p><p>“So. You’re going to become the next- King? Queen?” Osamu casually asks with an annoying grin.</p><p>“Don’t- It’s not-” he can feel his face heat up; they haven't talked about it with Kiyoomi yet so-</p><p>“It is ‘Tsumu, I saw the way you two look at each other.”</p><p>“I could say the same about you and that Akaashi prince.”</p><p>“I never tried to hide it,” Osamu lets his eyes wander towards the balcony where Akaashi apparently joined his cousin, gaze softening.</p><p>Atsumu laughs and closes his eyes, inhaling the sweet smell of the flowers blooming in the gardens. When he opens them again, taking in the view of the city below them, and the sea spreading in front of their eyes, he smiles, free and almost innocent.</p><p>“I could get used to this view.”</p><p>Osamu laughs, and there’s something in his body, the entire way he carries himself, that has changed too. He still looks familiar, but maybe less steady, less solid and inflexible, as if he finally allowed himself to let go of some old heavy burden; finally burning cursed memories with flaming panache. Being in love looks good on him too.</p><p>- ✧ - </p><p>The ceiling of the guest room is high, with intricate moulding and golden details. It’s so obviously luxurious Atsumu has to look away for a second. There are crystals hanging from the candelabras, reflecting the yellow light of the dancing flames. </p><p>But he can’t really bring himself to hate the luxury of the room for now; he’s too tired to even laugh at the embroidered bedsheets. Leaving his shoes at the door, he takes off most of his clothes, as soon as he enters his private bathroom, happy to find clean linen clothes waiting for him. The fabric is light blue, a colour he never really wore before; but he can see how it would match with Kiyoomi’s own colours, and can’t really bring himself to hate it now. </p><p>He groans when he slides inside the warm water of his bath.</p><p>It feels like it’s been years since he last had the chance to relax like that; maybe it has been years, it doesn’t matter because it took him almost dying for him to accept getting plunged into a bath with no other foreseeable horizon than going to bed in a few moments. </p><p>It feels good.</p><p>His skin doesn’t bare the signs of the cut he got earlier that day, and he knows that in a few years, he might wonder if he dreamt about all of this; there’s no tangible proof of anything that happened, no souvenir or trinket, only the memory of seeing his body agonizing on the floor, and the certainty of the weight in his heart, the solidity of the warmth spreading in his chest every time he thinks about Kiyoomi.</p><p>- ✧ -</p><p>Years of sleeping in the woods with guards chasing after him made him a very light sleeper. That’s why when someone knocks on the door of his room in the middle of the night, he wakes up almost immediately. Putting on the shirt the royal family let him borrow, he slips out of bed.</p><p>He slightly opens the door, smiling softly when he recognizes Kiyoomi’s familiar face. It surprisingly doesn't even looks weird to see him with black hair- he probably hasn't known him for long enough. </p><p>“Hey,” he whispers, looking at his nose, avoiding his eyes.</p><p>“Hey,” Atsumu replies, opening the door wider to let him inside.</p><p>“Can I- Can I come in?”</p><p>“Of course.”</p><p>Tooru is sitting on his shoulder, but as soon as the door is closed, he jumps on the floor to go sit on the windowsill, giving the two men more privacy.</p><p>Suddenly, Atsumu realizes he’s only wearing his underwear and a pretty light linen shirt- but Kiyoomi doesn’t seem to mind, rather looking at him with a soft amused smile on his lips.</p><p>“Did you need something?” Atsumu finally asks, sitting on the bed, inviting Kiyoomi to join him.</p><p>“I-” he sits next to him, closer than he expected, their legs touching, “I just couldn’t sleep.”</p><p>“Oh.”</p><p>“I think I got- I got used to your presence; especially when I’m not in- <em> the tower,” </em>he whispers, eyes sad when he says the last words. </p><p>“Do you want to sleep here?” Atsumu asks as if it didn’t mean anything- as if they hadn’t been kissing each other for half an hour back in <em> the tower.  </em></p><p>“If you don’t mind?”</p><p>“Of course I don’t mind! Anything for you, Omi-omi,” he grins, laying under the soft covers, raising them to invite Kiyoomi inside his bed.</p><p>He slips in easily, putting his head on the pillow, facing Atsumu; his eyes gentle when he lets himself drawn in the comfortable feeling of simply laying here, safe and <em> cherished.  </em></p><p>“Can I touch you?” Atsumu finally whispers, hand sliding over his cheek to cup his face, smile tender and eyes enamoured, soul laid bare as he comes closer-</p><p>“Yes, please-” Kiyoomi lets out in a small breath, just before Atsumu kisses him, soft lips brushing against his in a silent promise.</p><p><em> You’ll always be my dream, or living in them; every day, every night; </em> until dreams and reality merge, and you’ll be part of them both, <b>I promise.</b></p><p> </p><p>☽ - ✧ - ☾</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>
  <a href="https://twitter.com/yootasuke">twitter</a>
</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. epilogue.</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p><p> </p><p>☽ - ✧ - ☾</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>
  <b>EPILOGUE</b>
</p><p>
  <em> now i'm covered in you </em>
</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>☽ - ✧ - ☾</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>
  <em> first lantern ceremony. </em>
</p><p>If you told Atsumu one year ago that he would be standing on the royal balcony one day, throwing the first lantern of the lantern ceremony, he would not have believed you. </p><p>And yet, here he is, standing next to Kiyoomi, his own silver crown now sitting on his blond hair, a small blue lantern leaving his hands as he throws it into the sky, Kiyoomi doing the exact same thing next to him. </p><p>A few minutes later, he simply can’t resist the temptation to kiss him under the sea of lanterns; like he so much wanted to a year ago.</p><p>He wraps his arms around his boyfriend's waist and smiles against his lips. </p><p> </p><p>- ✧</p><p>✧</p><p> </p><p>✧ -</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>second lantern ceremony. </em>
</p><p>The second time he walks towards the edge of the royal balcony with a lantern in his hands, Atsumu knows something is different.</p><p>Kiyoomi’s face is closed off, and he doesn’t even stay to look at the lantern ceremony, simply launching his before going back inside.</p><p>Atsumu follows him under the incredulous gaze of the royal family. </p><p>“Are you alright?” he asks once he finds his boyfriend sitting on his throne, eyes looking at the lanterns through the high windows, his chin resting in his palm.</p><p>“No.” </p><p>“Do you want to talk about it?”</p><p>“Am I being a terrible person if I tell you that I miss my mother? The woman who raised me- Am I terrible if I tell you I want to- to talk to her one last time-” </p><p>Atsumu kneels in front of his boyfriend, placing his chin on his thighs, softly rubbing his forearms with his hands.</p><p>“Of course not, love.”</p><p>The second time they participate in the lantern ceremony as part of the royal family, their people barely gets to see them; they spend it in Kiyoomi’s bed instead, in a sea of tears and tissues. But it's okay, because Atsumu is there, and he holds him tight against his chest.</p><p> </p><p> ✧ -</p><p>✧</p><p>- ✧</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> third lantern ceremony. </em>
</p><p>For the first time in two years, Akaashi comes back to the castle for the lantern ceremony. Of course, Osamu is with him when he crosses the main gates just after the sunset, riding his own white horse. The prince smiles politely at Atsumu before going to talk to his uncle and Kiyoomi on the other side of the balcony.</p><p>“So you’re almost a king now,” Osamu remarks, eyes never leaving Akaashi, still as soft and disgustingly in love as ever.</p><p>“I guess. But if either of us dies, remember you’re the next one in line,” Atsumu warns him with a wink.</p><p>“I think Keiji would run away rather than go back to being the Crown Prince,” Osamu laughs, shaking his head, “and I don’t think I have what it takes to be a king.”</p><p>Kiyoomi quickly joins them, handing a lantern to Atsumu. Osamu lowers his head in respect before he leaves to stand next to his own husband. </p><p>But it's not long before he comes back with a glass of wine in his hand, mocking Atsumu's dancing moves. The king looks at them with an amused smile and Kiyoomi nods at everything Osamu says. For the first time since he arrived to the royal island, the ceremony really feels like he's really spending it with <em>family.</em></p><p> </p><p>- ✧</p><p>✧</p><p> </p><p>✧ -</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> fourth lantern ceremony. </em>
</p><p>The lanterns are floating around them, but Atsumu is not paying attention to them anymore; he can’t even say he was focusing on his own lantern as he was throwing it, because his mind has been too busy thinking about the weight of the small box inside his pocket.</p><p>This time, he doesn’t kiss Kiyoomi’s lips under the sea of lanterns, like he usually does; not right away.</p><p>Instead, he goes down on one knee, waiting for the prince to turn around and notice the silver ring sitting on deep blue velvet.</p><p>He can see the exact moment Kiyoomi understands what’s happening, because his eyes start to shine, and he gasps quietly, hiding his open mouth with his fingers just before he starts to laugh softly.</p><p>“Yes, Atsumu, <em> yes, of course.” </em></p><p>“Hey, let me ask at least,” Atsumu protests, but he still kisses him, and the lanterns haven't disappeared yet.</p><p> </p><p> ✧ -</p><p>✧</p><p>- ✧</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> fifth lantern ceremony. </em>
</p><p>The next time lanterns are launched into the sky, it’s not for Kiyoomi’s birthday. Their wedding day has finally arrived; they danced all night, surrounded by all their friends and family; the Miyas are all here, and even Osamu and Akaashi came back from their journey in the south to attend the ceremony. The thugs from the tavern arrived the day before; they all requested a dance with Kiyoomi until they finally give him back to Atsumu, warning him that if anything happens to the prince, they will come and find him. The children from the orphanage were invited too, with their headmistress who cried a bit when Atsumu kissed Kiyoomi after saying <em>yes.</em></p><p>They’re both drunk, high on love and happiness when they walk out of the royal gardens in the direction of the royal carriage that will bring them to their honeymoon destination. </p><p>They’re only halfway down the main street when they see the lanterns appearing in the sky above them, a silent way for their people to wish them the best for their wedding.</p><p>Kiyoomi doesn’t wait until they’ve reached the carriage to kiss his husband, though, both of his hands around his face. He smiles against his lips, pressing his chest closer to his.</p><p>Above them, thousands of blue and silver lanterns are floating, and behind them, their guests are cheering; it feels surreal, and Atsumu laughs.</p><p>But his laugh is cut short when Kiyoomi wraps his arms around him, smoothly making him fall backwards, so he can carry him bridal style for the rest of their short journey. He throws his body like a potato bag inside the carriage and closes the door behind him after he climbs in. </p><p>Waving at the crowd, he closes the blind.</p><p>None of them notices when the vehicle starts moving, too busy kissing each other, too busy getting rid of each other's clothes.</p><p>They have a few hours before they reach their destination, and there’s no way either of them is going to wait until then to enjoy each other’s <em> company.  </em></p><p> </p><p> </p><p>- ✧</p><p> </p><p>✧</p><p> </p><p>✧ -</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>And they lived happily ever after.</p><p> </p><p>☽ - ✧ - ☾</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p><a href="https://twitter.com/yootasuke">twitter</a>.</p><p>and voilà!<br/>i hope this new decade will bring you a lot of joy and happiness.<br/>and that you liked this fic as much as i enjoyed writing it (although i don't have a lot of memories from when i first started writing it!)<br/>ily!!!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
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